Unexpectedly Finding You
by Idina.Menzel.Girl
Summary: Rachel Berry is alone in life, that is until one bad day leads her into the place she'd never thought she'd be. Her mother's arms.
1. Chapter 1

**This takes place during Funk in the first season. Rachel and Jesse never met or dated. Shelby attended ND's sectionals competition but was not aware Rachel was her daughter.**

* * *

Rachel walked down the hall of McKinley High, knowing the emergency and mandatory glee meeting was not good. Especially when it was coming just a day after the visit she had paid to Carmel High School with a few of the members of glee club. It hadn't been Rachel's idea and she didn't want to engage in the funking revenge of their rival glee club, Vocal Adrenaline, but she was easily talked into it. Santana, Quinn, and Brittany had come to her yesterday after glee rehearsal had ended, asking her if she'd like to tag along. Rachel graciously declined, fearing getting caught and having her perfect record tainted. However, knowing the girl was desperate for friends and to not have to suffer through another daily slushy attack, Santana hinted at promises to have the attacks stopped and to be Rachel's friend. Rachel, willing to do anything to have a friend and to not have to carry around an extra set of clothing, agreed to help out her fellow glee club members. And after wasting the entire glee class hour cleaning up the toilet paper, wet wads of paper towel thrown on the ceiling and wall, along with having to reorganize the bins of sheet music that had been poured out onto the floor, Rachel was looking for a little revenge, though she'd never admit it out loud.

Her fears were right. Along with Will, Principal Figgins and an unknown woman were waiting for the last four students to arrive. Rachel put her best show face on to mask the fear and worry and waved to the three adults. "Hello Mr. Shuester, Principal Figgins." She nodded her head in their direction, then held out her hand to the woman dressed in a form fitting blazer, purple blouse and black pencil skirt. "Hello, my name is Rachel."

"Hello Rachel." The woman smiled, holding out her hand to the well mannered girl. "My name is Shelby, it's nice to meet you. I saw you perform at your sectional's competition. You were extraordinary."

"Thank you." Rachel shyly blushed.

"Take your seat." Will slightly bit.

He was in not very pleased at the moment and Rachel quickly found a spot in the front row. When everyone had finally arrived, Will stepped forward and demanded everyone's attention.

"I have called you all here as it has been brought to my attention that one or more of you went to Akron yesterday and released hundreds of crickets in their choir room. They were discovered by Vocal Adrenaline's coach, Miss Corcoran." Will said. "Her office and choir room were filled with them."

"How do you know it's one of us?" Puck asked.

"I'm sure we don't need to go over that." Will narrowed his eyes. "I know each and everyone of you was pissed at what Vocal Adrenaline pulled yesterday morning in this very room and were plotting ways to get back at them. Plus the insects were planted after I had released you from our practice. Now, I demand to know who did this?"

Rachel glanced at her peers that sat on each side of her, then behind her to Santana. The Latina shook her head very carefully and Rachel turned back to look at her teacher. His arms were crossed and he glared at each of the students, trying to scare them into confessing. Going for round two, Will's eyes landed on Santana, who had raised her long arm.

"Santana?" Will called on her.

"I saw Berry with several empty boxes from the pet store in her car this morning."

Rachel's eyes widened and her head snapped back to look at the cheerleader. "What? No, Mr. Shuester, I didn't do it." Rachel said, looking back at the adults.

"I saw it too." Quinn piped up.

"Yeah, it was RuPaul." Kurt added.

"Who helped you?" Will asked, stepping closer to the girl and hovered over her.

"No one." Rachel answered and shook her head. "I mean, I didn't do it."

"The rest of you are dismissed." Will said, his eyes never leaving Rachel.

Tears formed in her eyes as her so-called friends hurried off back to their classes.

"I am so disappointed in you." Will narrowed his eyes.

"Mr. Shuester, I didn't-" Rachel tried to explain but Will didn't want to hear it.

"-Enough Rachel, you've been caught and now you need to own up to it."

Shelby saw how upset the girl was and was taken back by the complete shock written all over Rachel's face when Santana had singled her out as the prankster. She had worked with teenagers long enough to know, Rachel wasn't the only one involved in this. In her eyes it wasn't fair for Rachel to be the only one to take the heat and it was wrong of Will to not give the girl a chance to explain.

"Will, I'd like to hear Rachel's side of things. For all you know some of your other students were involved, which is what I believe. There's no way Rachel could have done this all by herself." Shelby stepped up to the man.

"Of course she did this all by herself. Look Shelby, you don't know Rachel like I do. She's done plenty of underhanded things since joining the club." Will said and looked at Rachel. "You're banned from glee for two weeks."

"Mr. Shuester, you can't! Regionals are in three weeks!" Rachel exclaimed.

"On top of that, you'll serve a weeks detention." Figgins said. "Everyday next week you'll be here either before school or after school."

"And." Will said, ready to put the icing on the cake. "Your solo is going to Santana."

"No!" Rachel gasped, her tears finally spilling over. She couldn't lose her solo! "Please, don't take it away."

"Don't you think taking away her solo is a bit much? You've already banned her for two weeks and Mr. Figgins gave her a weeks detention." Shelby quietly said to Will.

"No. I'm tired of her storm outs and diva attitude. It's about time she be punished." Will said, writing a pass out for Rachel to return to her class. "You'll serve your first detention today after school, seeing as you won't be in glee."

Rachel accepted the pass and left the room, unable to plaster a show face on to say goodbye to Shelby or either man. Shelby internally sighed, wishing their was something to do for the talented girl. Saying goodbye to Will and Figgins, Shelby collected her purse from on top of the piano and headed out. It was almost 3 hours back to Akron and she was already going to be nearly 20 minutes late to her rehearsal. After that, she'd return to Lima where she lived. As she made her way to the exit nearest her car, Shelby noticed Rachel slipping into the auditorium. Curious as to why the girl when there as she was suppose to go back to her science class, Shelby followed Rachel but stayed out of sight.

Rachel sat on the edge of the stage, her tear filled eyes blurring her sight and cried some more as she buried her head into her hands. Shelby carefully made her way down to the stage, placing her bag on one of the seats in the second row. Clearing her throat, Shelby got Rachel's attention and the girl looked up with red, swollen eyes.

"I'm sorry about you losing your solo. I never intended for punishments to go that far." Shelby apologized. "I'll try to talk to Mr. Shuester again."

"Don't worry about it." Rachel shrugged her shoulders, wiping her face and hopping off the stage.

Truth of it all is, Rachel wasn't surprised as she was use to losing things that were important to her. It's just her life. She folded her arms from the sudden chill of the auditorium and turned her back from Shelby.

"I know it wasn't just you." Shelby said. "I can tell when someone is lying or pretending to be shocked."

"I was there but I was just the look out." Rachel tried to clear up now that she was being given the chance. "It was all some trick. Them talking me into going? It was some ploy to get me to go so they could pin it all on me. You know, they think they're all getting me down but one day, I'm going to make it on Broadway." Rachel turned and looked at Shelby. "I'll have everything and they'll regret ever being mean to me."

The hope in Rachel's eyes faded and the girl sighed, dropping her arms. Broadway wasn't going to happen. It's a lost dream and she was never going to make it further than Lima's city lines. She's a Lima Loser and that's all she's destined to be.

"I just need to accept it." Rachel said out loud.

"Accept what?" Shelby asked confused about what had just taken place. One minute the girl was beaming with confidence about getting away from Lima and the next, she was down on herself.

"That I'm just another Lima Loser." Rachel said. "The only marquee that'll say 'Rachel Berry' is the marquee outside the Lima Community Theater center. I'll be doing plays at night that no one goes too and be doing some office job during the day."

Berry? Shelby choked on her gum. Did this girl just say her name was Rachel Berry? She couldn't be? Could she?

"Your last name is Berry?" Shelby shakily asked. "Are your fathers Hiram and Leroy Berry?"

"Yeah, why? Do you know them?" Rachel asked, furrowing her brows.

"Um, yeah." Shelby replied. "I did some business with them years ago, before you were born."

"Oh." Rachel said. "That's cool, I guess."

"Yeah." Was all Shelby could say. "But, I need to get out of here."

"Oh, okay." Rachel said, unsure of why she was so upset on the inside about Shelby leaving her.

Shelby ran out of the auditorium, without so much as saying goodbye. More tears flowed down Rachel's face and she slumped her tiny body against the stage. It was just another person walking out when Rachel needed them. Shelby seemed to be different than everyone else. But she was just like the rest. No, it wasn't Shelby, it was Rachel. It was Rachel's fault that her dads didn't care. It was Rachel's fault that Finn was still chasing after Quinn, even though the blonde had cheated on him. Everyone hates her. She was unlovable.

Shelby came to a screeching halt as the auditorium doors closed. She had just come face to face with the daughter she had been missing and thinking about for the last fifteen years and yet her she was running away from Rachel. Why? Shelby didn't need to convince herself to turn around and go back to Rachel. She pulled a business card from her purse and held it tightly as she made her way down the aisle. Rachel heard the now familiar heels in the room and looked up to see Shelby just feet in front of her.

"I can't stay." Shelby said and Rachel wondered why the woman was crying but accepted the card Shelby handed to her. "Please call me, Rachel. I think the two of us should talk."

Rachel nodded and Shelby left once more, leaving Rachel to read over the small card in her hand. Putting the card in her skirt pocket, Rachel went back to her science classroom to get her things since class had ended moments before. Next hour, and her last class before lunch, Rachel shared this class with Santana and she was not looking forward to it.

Santana picked the desk next to Rachel, knowing the girl wasn't going to say a thing to her about what happened just fifteen minutes ago. Rachel never said anything. Rachel learned that lesson the very first time she had been slushied and had marched right down to Figgins' office and told the man which jocks were responsible for her blue raspberry facial. The days following were the worst of Rachel's life.

"Hey, midget." Santana leaned over to Rachel.

"What do you want?" Rachel grumbled, figuring Santana was about to gloat for having Rachel's solo.

"Thanks for covering for us." Santana said, causing Rachel to look at her funny. "It's what friends do, they cover for each other."

"Right." Rachel replied, not believing Santana.

During class, Santana noticed the card sticking out of Rachel's pocket And could see part of Shelby's name. It didn't take a genius to figure out why the disliked girl would have the nation's three time consecutive show choir champion coach's card. Rachel was jumping ship to Vocal Adrenaline. Sending a mass text to everyone in glee besides Rachel and Will, Santana ran out of class the moment the bell rang.

Right after school, Rachel stopped at her locker to grab the books she had placed in there before lunch and headed to the detention room. Normally she did her homework throughout school but since she had detention and no glee, she decided to do it during detention.

"Hi Rachel." Santana sweetly said, walking up to Rachel with Quinn and Brittany at her side.

Rachel knew they were up to no good. First they had used Rachel's actual name and not some hurtful nickname and second, they were surrounding her like hungry sharks swimming around their prey.

"I have to go." Rachel said, shutting her locker and headed in the direction of the detention room.

"We can talk to you while we walk." Quinn said as the three caught up to her.

"Okay." Rachel answered.

"We're going to dinner at Breadstix at seven and wanted to see if you'd like to join us." Quinn asked.

"Me? Why would you want me there?" Rachel asked, coming to a stop.

"Because it's what friends do. We go to dinner together, especially when one friend covers for the others." Quinn said. "So what do you say?"

"Alright. I suppose I can." Rachel nodded.

"Great. See you there." Santana smiled.

Four hours later, Rachel's car pulled up to the restaurant and Rachel walked in, knowing exactly where the girls would be. Since Brittany's dad co-owned the diner, the girls had their own special table. Decorative plants lined the half circle booth but the three matching ponytails told her she was the last to arrive.

"How long do we have to be here for?" Quinn asked.

Rachel stopped in her tracks, listening to the conversation.

"Just long enough to make the freak think we actually like her. I'll give her back her solo and all will be good and we will have a better chance at winning regionals." Santana said.

Rachel's heart broke in two. She was hurt that she had been played once again but mostly she was mad at herself for falling for the 'we're best friends' scheme. Before she was spotted, Rachel turned around and ran out the door and got into her car. She only made it halfway down the block when she burst into tears. Unable to see, Rachel had to pull into the parking lot of a city park to finish crying. Once her sobs had subsided to hiccups, Rachel called Shelby. She knew Vocal Adrenaline was in rehearsals and would be for another hour, but she hoped Shelby would answer her phone. And she did after three rings.

"Hello?" Shelby answered. She recognized the Lima area code and hoped it was Rachel.

"I wanna take you up on your offer to join Vocal adrenaline." Rachel immediately said.

"Rachel?" Shelby asked. Joining Vocal Adrenaline was not the reason Shelby wanted to speak to Rachel and avoided answering Rachel's statement. "Are you okay?"

"Sorta." She replied. "I'd be much better though if you'd let me in your glee club."

Shelby could sense the distress in Rachel's voice. "Where are you?"

"A park near Lima Heights." Rachel answered. And suddenly she got embarrassed that she had called Shelby. "I am so sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you. I'll let you go."

"No. No. No. Wait." Shelby said much to quickly and Shelby smacked her head. "Okay, um. Would you be able to meet me at the Lima Bean?" Shelby asked. Her daughter needed someone to talk to and Shelby was going to be that person. "Are you okay to drive?"

Shelby knew that park wasn't very safe, especially now when it was dark. Rachel wiped away her tears and gave Shelby a sniffled yes.

"Okay, I'm not gonna be there for at least two hours. Will you be okay until then?" Shelby asked.

"Yeah." Rachel replied.

"Good. I'll see you at the coffee shop around nine."

The pair hung up the phone and Shelby scrambled to get her things together. She yelled at her star and lead male, Jesse to take over for her for the rest of the hour as she had an emergency. He agreed and Shelby rushed out the door and to her car.

It was 9:30 when Shelby reached Lima. She had messaged Rachel fifteen minutes ago to tell her she was running late. Needing to stop home first to get something, Shelby didn't get to the coffee shop until a quarter to ten. She apologized to Rachel profusely as she sat down with a warm cup of tea in her hands.

"It's okay." Rachel brushed it off.

"How are you feeling? You sounded really upset on the phone."

"New Directions is using me for my talent. They all hate me until they realize that they need my voice, then they act like I'm the greatest person in the world to my face. You seem like a decent coach and person, I think we'd work well together."

"Rachel, you really don't want to join Vocal Adrenaline, trust me. They're ten times worse than New Directions and it would kill me to see them turn such a sweet girl into one of them."

"I have yet to change who I am in order to make others happy." Rachel said but maybe she should give it a try once. "I really want to work with you and build the stepping stones to the career I have picked. With your pedigree in the show choir world, I am sure to get in to NYADA following High School."

"That's very flattering, Rachel but I'm leaving Vocal Adrenaline after Regionals. My co-coach, who's been working with me the last two months, is taking over the Monday following the competition." Using her resignation, Shelby jumped into talking to Rachel about their connection. "You see, Rachel, I have this dream. I want a big house with a garden, and a dog- a family. Mostly I want a family."

"That's great Shelby but what does this have to do with me?" Rachel wondered.

"Because you, Rachel Berry." Shelby said, taking the contract from her purse and place it in front of Rachel. "You are my daughter. You're my family and my dream, it doesn't work without you."

Rachel picked up the contract from the table and read it over. She was reading so fast and had a lot going through her mind, that she hardly could digest what any of it meant or specifically what it said. Thankfully at the bottom of the fifth page, Shelby's signature was scribbled next to her fathers' and under the signature, in bold letters the word _Mother_ was clearly printed. Shelby watched as Rachel's face changed as she went through the different motions but didn't say anything to let Rachel have her time.

The contract was suddenly dropped on the table and Rachel bolted out the door. Shelby called out her daughter's name loudly, getting looks from other customers. She grabbed her purse and Rachel's purse as she ran out a distance behind Rachel. She scanned the parking lot, unsure of which car was Rachel's or which direction the girl had taken off in.

Rachel, realizing she had left her purse in the coffee shop and didn't have her keys, crumbled to the ground, sobs rattling her tiny frame. A short time later she heard the heels and then felt Shelby trying to pull her into a hug. A little harder than she planned, Rachel pushed Shelby away and the woman couldn't find balance and fell to her skirt covered bottom.

Shelby quickly got to her knees on the hard, gravel covered concrete and tried to console Rachel again. This time she only placed a hand on Rachel's knee and the other began stroking Rachel's hair. "Rachel, Honey, please talk to me."

"I can't be your daughter." Rachel cried out, shaking her head and refusing to look up at Shelby. "You don't want me to be your daughter, trust me, I'll ruin your dream."

"I don't believe that for a second." Shelby whispered out.

"You gave me up to my dads to fulfill their dream of being parents and look what happened. I'll ruin your dreams just like I did theirs." Rachel sobbed, using the sleeve of her sweater to wipe her nose.

Shelby grimaced and shooed Rachel's hand away, getting a tissue from her purse. She tried to figure out what Rachel meant, using the tissue to remove the tears and snot from Rachel's face to buy her sometime to come to a conclusion. When she couldn't quite understand it, she slipped the used tissue in her blazer pocket and used her thumb to brush away the stray fresh tears from Rachel's cheeks.

"Rach, what do you mean you ruined their dreams?" Shelby calmly asked.

"They're gone. They're never around. In the last three months, I've seen them a total of ten days. Non-consecutively." Rachel said, new tears forming. Shelby let those be as she was sure she heard Rachel wrong. The Hiram and Leroy Berry Shelby knew over 15 years ago would never leave their daughter by herself at all. "It started when I was eight with late nights at the office, dinner parties on weekends they needed to attend. By eleven, they were going away for a night or two but shortly before I turned twelve, I was being left alone for days at a time. Over the last couple years their trips got longer and I saw less and less of them." Rachel's voice began to stagger and she burst into another round of tears.

This time Rachel allowed Shelby to hold her and Shelby just let Rachel cry. It was clear she had never told a single person about this and was scared of the consequences of doing so. After thirty seconds or so, Shelby asked Rachel if her dads were home now. Rachel sobbed out and no and tried to explain where they were but all Shelby could understand was that they had been gone for three days after a night home between their trips.

Rachel got her crying under control and sat up away from Shelby. "I'm sorry." She ducked her head. Her crying had left several wet spots on Shelby's top.

"Shhh, don't worry."

"What happens now?" Rachel quietly asked.

"Will you be alright to drive?" Shelby asked, fetching another tissue from her purse and dried Rachel's face once more.

"I think so."

"Okay, then I'll follow you to your house to get some clothes and we'll take it from there." Shelby said. She stood up and helped Rachel to her feet, dusting off the girl's skirt and legs. "All good?"

"All good." Rachel repeated. "We should probably go, it's getting late and don't worry, I have some money saved up. You can have it for gas money, it's not much but it should make up for having to drive to and from Akron a million times."

"You'll do nothing with that money besides saving it or spending it on yourself." Shelby shook her head and passed Rachel's purse to the girl.

"But-"

"-Rachel, I live here in Lima. I stopped by McKinley today before I had to teach my afternoon classes at Carmel. So you see, you didn't cause any extra problems in my day. I'd have to make those trips anyway." Shelby said. "And you're right, it is getting late so we best be going. You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." Rachel nodded.

Rachel got into her car and waited for Shelby to pull up beside her, ready to follow Rachel to the Berry house. Shelby made sure to stay close to Rachel and kept her phone at hand, in case she needed to tell Rachel to pull over. Shelby was glad that they were able to get to the Berry house without incident and she was even more glad that Rachel hadn't cried on the way home either.

Shelby rolled down the driver's side window as Rachel stepped over to the Range Rover. "Do you want my help?"

"I won't be long, if you could just wait here for me?"

"Take your time." Shelby replied.

Rachel unlocked the front door and closed it behind her, going straight up to her bedroom. She went into her large walk in closet, stacking four hot pink suitcases on her bed. Rachel sighed, she wasn't going to need that much stuff. She wouldn't be staying with Shelby for very long. Chucking three of the bags into the closet, Rachel packed enough clothes to last her until Monday, which was only four days away. Leaving the closet once more, Rachel came out with a few outfits, neatly folding them into the suitcase. Standing at her dresser, Rachel gathered some underwear, bras, and knee socks and dumped the armful into the suitcase as well. She didn't want to keep Shelby waiting much longer and finished up her packing with shoving four different colored headbands into one of the pockets of the suitcase. She pulled up the handle of the suitcase and flung her backpack over her shoulder.

Shelby got out of the car to help Rachel. She popped open the trunk, lifting the pink suitcase into the back and was surprised by the light weight. "Rachel, this seems kinda light."

"I've packed plenty." Rachel stated and placed her book bag next to the suitcase. "It'll get me through the weekend."

"Honey, I don't want you just for the weekend." Shelby said, cupping Rachel's cheek. "When I said we'd come here to get some clothes, I meant that you should pack enough clothing until we could get the rest of your things."

"What?" Rachel softly asked.

"I want you to move in with me for good."

"You do?"

"Of course I do." Shelby responded and pulled Rachel into their first real hug.

"If I say yes and it doesn't work out the way you thought it would-"

"Stop, Rachel." Shelby said, placing her hands on Rachel's cheeks to tip the girl's head back. "You're not going to ruin anything and I am not going to change my mind." Rachel leaned back into Shelby and gave a little smile as Shelby rubbed comforting circles on her back. Shelby felt and heard Rachel's belly rumble and stopped rubbing her back. "When did you have dinner?"

"I didn't." Rachel realized.

"You haven't eaten? What did you have for lunch?" Shelby asked, stepping back from Rachel.

"Nothing." Rachel answered, bowing her head. "I spent my lunch like I normally do, in the auditorium and I was suppose to have dinner with my frie-" Rachel closed her mouth and began to wring her hands. "I'm sorry, please don't be mad."

"I'm not mad." Shelby said as Rachel bowed her head. She reached out and lifted Rachel's chin, forcing the girl to look at her. "I'm not mad, okay?" Rachel nodded into her mom's hand.

"Good." She softly said, kissing Rachel's forehead. "How about you go inside and pack some more things, at least two weeks worth, while I run down the street and get you something to eat. I'll come back and then we'll go to my place so you can eat."

"Alright." Rachel agreed and explained to her mom that she had a very strict vegan diet.

Shelby got Rachel settled in the kitchen of her three story home and then went back out to the SUV to unload the car. On her last trip, Shelby locked her car doors and checked to make sure Rachel had locked hers as well. Rachel's bags had been stacked in the front hallway until after Rachel was finished eating and when she did, Shelby took her on a small tour of the house. It was already close to 11:30 and Rachel had school in the morning. Shelby showed her around the main level of the house, pointing out the livingroom, formal diningroom, bathroom, and office. Leaving the livingroom, walking through the diningroom, and into the kitchen, Shelby pointed out a set of stairs, telling Rachel it led to the semi-sound proofed studio. Rachel's eyes bulged out of her head.

"You have a studio?" Rachel gasped.

"Yeah, I gave lessons before I worked at Carmel, then I used it for weekend rehearsals with my VA students. Now, it'll be used for lessons again." Shelby explained.

"I bet you'll have full days of lessons." Rachel sadly assumed but that didn't stop her from starting to walk to the stairs.

Shelby grabbed the back of the girl's sweater, pulling her back into the main part of the kitchen, telling her she could go down there later. "I will not have any lessons after six pm during the school year and while you have summer break, I will come up with some sort of schedule to make sure we have plenty of time together."

"Really?" Rachel asked.

"Really." Shelby said. "Let's get your luggage and I will show you to your room."

On the next floor up, Shelby pointed out a small bathroom with only a toilet and a sink and a linen closet right next door. a few feet down the hall, Shelby opened up the first bedroom door.

"I turned this one into a music room of sorts. It's more of a private room for me, aside from the studio, where I can keep my personal music collection and use the piano I've had since my sixteenth birthday." Shelby said. "You can use this room too, whenever you want."

"Wow." Rachel breathed out, scanning the four floor to ceiling bookshelves that held probably every piece of sheet music known to man. "And I thought my collection was huge."

"It has taken me forever." Shelby laughed and walked Rachel into the room to look at a framed piece of sheet music. "This was the very first piece I bought when I was twelve."

"Les Mis." Rachel said. "It's my second favorite musical."

"Mine too. My first is Funny Girl."

Rachel stared up at her mother in awe. "Mine too."

"I guess sometime this weekend, we will have to have a movie night and watch Funny Girl." Shelby said and Rachel nodded with excitement.

Shelby gently pushed Rachel to the door and walked her out into the hallway, turning off the music room light. Across the hall, Shelby opened another door and announced that it was the master bedroom and directly across from her, was Rachel's new room.

"That door over there leads to your closet, it's a small walk in but there's plenty of storage space. And that door over there is the door to your bathroom."

"I have my own bathroom?" Rachel asked. She was use to having her own bathroom at her dads' but wasn't expecting that at Shelby's too.

"You for now, unless you give me reason to take away the privilege." Shelby replied, which reminded her about the keys. "And if for some reason you feel the need to lock me out of your room, please keep in mind that I have keys to every single room in this house."

"I wouldn't." Rachel promised.

"We'll see." Shelby chuckled and placed the two suitcases in her hand against the wall on the floor by the door. "I'll give you a few minutes to get settled in and to find some pajamas. You can unpack your belongings tomorrow after school. I need to make a quick phone call and when I am finished, I will come and say goodnight."

"Yes Ma'am." Rachel said. She wanted to complain that she didn't want to go to bed yet but she was tired and didn't want to anger Shelby.

Shelby went into her room and changed into something to sleep in and ten minutes later, Shelby hung up the phone with her co-coach, Dustin Goolsby. He was going to be taking over her team in just three weeks and Shelby felt it was important for her to be home the following day when Rachel got off of school. Normally she wasn't getting home until eleven with VA rehearsals and driving time. She couldn't leave Rachel home alone for that long. Dustin agreed to cover for her the next evening and they both agreed that starting Monday, Shelby would coach until 5:30 and leave him to take care of the rest of rehearsals. It was great practice to see if she had made the right choice for who would be taking over for her. It would get her home at 8:30, later than she wanted but it was only for three weeks.

Shelby was digging in her briefcase for her phone charger and jumped when she heard Rachel screaming from upstairs. Dropping everything, Shelby ran up the stairs two at a time. Rachel came out into the hallway, coming out of Shelby's bedroom.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Shelby asked, looking Rachel over for any injuries.

Rachel's skin was pale and her eyes were wide. "You met Barbra?" She asked, her voice was soft and slightly shaky.

Shelby sighed and then let out a little laugh. "You scared the hell out of me, Rachel." Shelby said, walking the girl into the master bedroom. She picked up the photo frame that contained the picture of her and Barbra Streisand. "I was twenty two, which would have made you about three, almost four. It was during my eighteen performance run as Maria in West Side Story. Barbra had come down to the theater to meet us and what not."

"That's amazing." Rachel quietly gasped.

"Yeah, it was pretty amazing meeting Barbra."

"That's cool too but I was talking about you." Rachel said, looking up at Shelby. "My mom was on Broadway."

"Off-Broadway." Shelby corrected. "I left after eighteen performances and three months later, it moved to on Broadway."

"Why did you leave?" Rachel asked.

"Another story, a different day." Shelby said, telling Rachel she'd have to wait to hear the reason.

"But-"

"Sorry, kid but it's late." Shelby cut Rachel's whine off. She placed the picture back on the nightstand and turned Rachel to her room, noticing Rachel had yet to change into her pajamas. Keeping one hand on Rachel's shoulder, Shelby placed a quick and nearly painless swat to Rachel's skirt covered bottom. "I'm sure I said you needed to get ready for bed."

"You did." Rachel said, covering her backside with her hands as she led Shelby into her bedroom. Once she was in the room, Rachel turned to look at her mom and dropped her hands at her sides. "I just got- I wanted a better look at your room. I'm sorry, I should have asked first before going in there."

"You're welcome in there anytime, unless the door is shut, then you'll have to knock first." Shelby said.

"I will. Thank you, for everything. I really appreciate it." Rachel said, opening her arms for a hug and Shelby quickly granted Rachel's request.

Shelby patted Rachel's backside lovingly and Rachel smiled into Shelby's shoulder at the action. A kiss was placed to the top of the head and Shelby told Rachel to get the shorts and tee shirt that were sitting on the bed and go into the bathroom. Rachel grabbed her makeup bag that she had tossed her toothbrush and toothpaste in, along with her change of clothes and went into the bathroom.

Shelby left the bedroom and returned minutes later with an empty white laundry basket, after locking up the house and plugging in her phone, and placed it on the floor for Rachel to put in the bathroom. Rachel exited the bathroom as Shelby was turning down the comforter of Rachel's bed and Rachel got in, slipping her chilled feet under the thick blanket. She laid back on the bed and Shelby covered her up, then flipped off the light switch and returned to the bed, sitting on the edge.

"I love you, Rachel." Shelby kissed Rachel's cheek. "I am so glad you told me about your dads and even happier that you're letting me help you. I'm gonna take care of you like a parent should and be there when you need me."

"I love you too, Mom." Rachel said, a few tears sliding down her cheeks.

Shelby wiped them away and gave her one last kiss before changing her position on the bed so she was sitting with her back against the headboard.

"You don't have to stay here with me." Rachel said but didn't stop herself from snuggling into Shelby. "I'm sure you have work you need to do."

"I can do it in the morning before I go to work. Right now, I'm not letting you fall asleep alone." Shelby gently said, playing with Rachel's hair.

The next morning Shelby found Rachel in the kitchen, clad in her pajamas and her hair a mess. Her eyes were still trying to get use to the morning light and Shelby figured she hadn't been up for very long but she needed to get a move on that way they weren't late getting Rachel to school. Rachel rinsed out the bowl she used for her fruit salad and Shelby took over for her, sending the girl up to her room to shower.

Shelby had put on a sweatshirt, zipping the front up halfway and slipped on a pair of tennis shoes and was now waiting for Rachel to return from running upstairs to get her backpack. Even though Rachel had her own car and didn't need Shelby to drive her to school but the mom wanted to speak to the principal about their new situation. She couldn't exactly tell Figgins the truth but instead told him that Hiram and Leroy were on vacation and left Rachel in their care, so any phone calls and letters needed to be directed to her until further notice.

"I'm ready." Rachel said, coming down the stairs.

"Okay." Shelby said and the pair walked out the front door. Shelby parked in one of the visitor parking spaces and got out with Rachel. "Remember, I'll be picking you up after school, following your detention."

They quickly hugged and walked side by side as they walked into the building. Rachel parted ways with Shelby as the woman went into the office and Rachel headed for her locker. After a second thought, she turned around and went into the office and sat down in one of the waiting chairs. She was aware that Shelby wanted to talk to Mr. Figgins but she wasn't entirely sure what was all going to be said. Shelby came out a few minutes later, surprised to find Rachel walking up to her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Class doesn't start for ten more minutes." Rachel threw up her hands in defense. "And I just wanted to know how the talk went."

"Rachel, I was only telling him to contact me in case something happens." Shelby smiled.

"Oh, okay." Rachel said, feeling foolish for being so worried. "I guess I should go to class now."

"I guess you should." Shelby agreed, walking Rachel out of the office. "I will see you later, sweetheart."

"Bye, mom." Rachel said, giving Shelby a wave as she turned the corner.

Will was coming out of the teacher's lounge when he spotted Shelby Corcoran talking with not just any student, but his star student and he knew these wasn't good. Not one bit. The two parted, Rachel going to class and Shelby leaving the building. He dropped his cup of coffee and bagel into the trashcan and ran after Shelby but it was too late, she was backing out of the parking space and Will couldn't get her attention.

Will stormed to his office and slammed the door shut. Through out the morning and early afternoon, Will called Shelby's office at Carmel several times but got no answers. When Shelby did finally get to her office later in the afternoon, her voice flashed that she had seven missed calls. She was about to check who it was from but got distracted with some emails she needed to take care of, one of which held the security videos from two days before when the cricket infestation happened. She watched the videos and shook her head. There wasn't much she could do in the moment because she had to get to her first of three classes of the day.

When she returned to her office two hours later, Shelby took note that the missed call count had gone from seven to thirteen. Before she could press any buttons on the phone to see who was leaving all the messages, the phone rang. Sitting on her office chair, Shelby picked up the phone and answered.

"Shelby Corcoran." She answered.

"What you're scared of losing your status as top show choir coach in the nation next year because your best students are graduating, so you have to come steal mine?" Will barked into the phone. What a lovely greeting.

"Excuse me? Will, I haven't stolen any of your students."

"The hell you haven't?!" Will bellowed. "You're going after Rachel, telling her she would be better off at Carmel, taking advantage of her anger with me because she didn't get her way for a change and actually had to take some responsibility for her actions."

"First of all, Rachel has every right to be angry. You didn't give her half a chance to even explain herself." Shelby began. "Had you taken the time, you would have learned that it wasn't Rachel who had set the crickets free in my choir room." Shelby paused to lean past her desk and look out at the attached choir room. Even though the insect problem had been taken care of, Shelby could have sworn she heard chirping. "Three cheerleaders and to two boys, one with a mohawk, were captured on security cameras breaking into my choir room and office. Rachel was no where in sight."

Although in the second set of videos, Rachel had been spotted in the parking lot, Shelby figured Will didn't need to know that. "If you don't believe me I can forward you a copy of the video." Shelby smugly offered, imagining the look on the man's face. "You know, you don't have to worry about me stealing your best student, Will. You've isolated her all on your own. But you might want to keep an extra eye out at the PTA next month. It's about damn time someone starts sticking up for my daughter."

Will's mouth fell open as the phone loudly slammed on the other end.

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**A/N: So what did you guys think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews and messages! So sweet!**

**Love you all!  
**

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Rachel's day began slowly. So slow she was ready to bash her face into her desk and it was only second hour. Will had pulled Rachel aside between first and second passing period, asking what Shelby wanted from her and if she was transferring to Carmel. Rachel stated she wasn't going anywhere but didn't say much of anything regarding her relationship with Shelby; not knowing if Shelby would be upset with her for telling anyone. She had told Will that Shelby was just dropping of some informational pamphlets and brochures on a summer camp for Performing Arts, thinking they'd be of interest for Rachel. Will had believed her but was feeling like something else was being hidden. Maybe Rachel wasn't leaving now but what about the following year?

Rachel was plenty hungry by the time lunch rolled around. Typically she spent it in the auditorium, singing any and every song that came to mind but today, Rachel promised Shelby she would eat something before going to the auditorium. She pulled out the four dollars Shelby had given her and stood in line, filling her tray with a small salad, a bottle of water, and a banana. She paid for the items and scanned the cafeteria, perplexed as where to sit. It had been almost three years since Rachel had eaten in the lunchroom. Finding an empty table, Rachel sat down and began eating her salad. Checking the time on her phone, Rachel saw she had a message from Shelby.

_-Hey, sweetheart. How's school so far?_

_-Alright. I'm in lunch now._

_Rachel placed her phone down and took several more bites of her salad. Her phone vibrated on the table and Rachel put down her fork._

_-Eating?_

Rachel rolled her eyes, thinking if she should send a picture of her lunch but thought the better of it. Shelby could see it as her being a smartass and not trying to be funny. Rachel replied with a simple yes and returned to eating. Shelby didn't answer right away and Rachel figured she was busy and put her phone in her pocket. With her salad finished, Rachel took a drink of her water and peeled her banana just as Finn sat down across from her. Rachel stopped what she was doing and glanced up at Finn like he had grown a second head.

"What?" He chuckled.

"You do realize your girlfriend is four tables that-a-way." Rachel said, pointing to her left.

"She's not my girlfriend anymore." Finn said. "Not after what Quinn did to you yesterday."

"You're breaking up with her now? Don't you think it's a little late, considering she has been torturing me since the 7th grade?"

"Quinn's mean for calling you names and ordering slushy hits on you." Finn said. "But she's a bitch for talking you into going with to Carmel, then blaming it all on you and then I found out about the dinner you were invited too. I can't date someone like that."

"And you can't date someone like me, remember?" Rachel said softly as she placed her fruit down on her tray.

"I was wrong about that Rachel. I like you. A lot. I just didn't want to lose my power status as most popular guy in school. It doesn't matter to me anymore."

"What does matter now?" Rachel asked.

"Doing what ever it takes to show you how sorry I am for everything." Finn said. "I wanted to know if you'd come to the football game tonight. It starts at seven, after glee. After the games I usually go with them to Pizza Joint for dinner but I thought we could grab something from that vegetarian place."

"You're not vegan or vegetarian." Rachel pointed out.

"So I give up meat and everything that tastes good for a night. I just want to show you I'm not the ass you think I am."

Rachel thought for a second and looked back at Finn. She'd have to ask Shelby's permission first but didn't want to turn down Finn.

"I'm not sure if I can but I'll let you know by the time glee is over." Rachel replied.

"And, speaking of glee, I am going to tell Figgins and Mr. Shue, exactly what happened."

"Thanks, Finn." Rachel smiled in appreciation.

The tall boy got up from the table, after slipping Rachel his phone number and walked away to join his friends for lunch. Rachel finished her lunch and carried her garbage to the trash can and placed her tray on the cart. As she turned around, Rachel came face to face with Quinn.

"Finn and I might have broken up but he'll come crawling back to me eventually." Quinn said, with her hands on her hips. "Just remember your place in this school, Man-Hands. You're at the bottom and Finn is at the top and that's the way it will always be."

Quinn gracefully walked away with a hint of attitude in her stride. Shaking her head, ridding her of all thought, Rachel went to the auditorium and tossed her bags next to the piano. She took out her phone and saw that Shelby had responded to her while she was talking to Finn. Shelby told Rachel she had to go as her first class was about to start.

At the end of the day, Rachel stopped at her locker to drop off her backpack. She'd finished her homework during her study hall but did have a history project she had due on Tuesday. Even though she had the weekend to complete the project, Rachel wanted to get most of it done. She was assuming Shelby would ask about homework when she was picked up after detention and figured Shelby would demand she do her homework before she could go out with Finn. If she got a good portion of it done when Shelby arrived, she might be let go with the promise of completing the rest later on in the weekend.

Rachel closed her locker, with her history folder in her hand and headed up to the library to check out a couple books she'd need for her project and to buy two sheets of poster board. Will called out Rachel's name just before the girl could walk into the library and Rachel turned around to face him. She stepped away from the door and waited for Will to catch up.

"I talked to your mom-"

"My mom?" Rachel choked out.

"She told me." Will nodded. "Anyway, I saw the video of the prank on Carmel's choir room. Finn also told me that you had no idea what was going to happen and confirmed that you were brought along as a look out and to take the blame. I talked to Figgins and he is speaking to those who were involved right now."

"Okay." Rachel said.

"I'm giving you you're solo back and you may return to glee on Monday but today you have to serve one last detention for going to the school. After that you're free of all punishments."

"What about the others?"

"They're going to get a week's detention, along with being banned from glee for two weeks." Will said. He told Rachel he had to go and told Rachel he'd see her Monday after school. Rachel took several steps forward and called out to Will. "Yes?"

"Instead of banning them from glee for the next to weeks, what if you ban them from glee after Regionals? If we go to Nationals, we'll have six weeks of rehearsals and if they miss two weeks is not as damaging to our team as it would be taking the next two weeks so close to regionals." Rachel asked. "I just think we shouldn't be splitting up the group so close to the competition, especially since we're going up against Vocal Adrenaline."

"I'll think about it." Will decided.

Shelby left work on time to pick up Rachel from her detention and pulled up along the front of the school. Rachel was sitting on the ground, working intently on her project from school. When Rachel didn't even look up after a few seconds, Shelby honked her horn and got Rachel's attention. The girl gathered her work up and carefully placed it in the backseat. When Rachel got in the front, Shelby told her to put on her seatbelt and they headed to Shelby's.

"How was school?" Shelby asked.

"Fine." Rachel shrugged.

"Homework?" Shelby asked. It made her curious as Rachel didn't have her backpack with her.

"I did everything in my study hall, except my history project, which is due Tuesday." Rachel replied.

"Okay." Shelby said, focusing on the road.

"And I was actually wondering if I could go out tonight?" Rachel asked and continued when Shelby glanced across the console at her. "Finn Hudson asked if I'd like to go to watch him play football at the game tonight and then go out for dinner after."

"Have you started your project?"

"Half of it is done." Rachel answered. "I made sure to get as much done as I could. Please let me go. I promise I'll do the rest first thing tomorrow morning"

Shelby patted Rachel's knee, telling her to slow down.

"Relax, I only wanted to make sure to leave plenty of room during the weekend for you to do your homework. Seeing as the only thing you have to do is the last half of your poster, you'll knock it out in no time." Rachel seemed to calmed down and lowered into her seat. "So what about this date?"

"It's with a boy named Finn, who I've liked for a while now. He's in glee club with me."

"He's not one of the boys who cricketed my office and choir room, is he?" Shelby asked. Rachel began to wring her hands, thinking Shelby was going to tell her no. "Do you want to go?"

"Sorta. I mean, yes. I do." Rachel stammered. "Finn and Quinn broke up because he wasn't happy with Quinn bullying me. He even told Mr. Shuester the truth about the prank and that I was only there for everyone to blame me."

"Did he know about that at the time of the prank?" Shelby asked, trying to figure out Finn's intentions.

"No." Rachel lied, even though she wasn't particularly sure. "He didn't know."

"But he didn't say anything when Will, Mr. Figgins and I were confronting everyone?" Shelby said, trying to get Rachel to think harder about if she should go or not.

"I'm sure Quinn made him stay quiet." Rachel shrugged. "Anyway, he really wants to take me out to apologize for everything. He knows he should have done things differently."

Shelby really didn't know if she should let Rachel go but the begging in Rachel's eyes was making her lean towards saying yes. "Alright, you can go but I want you to take your own car, so if something seems off with him, you can leave on your own."

"Nothing's going to happen." Rachel rolled her eyes. Shelby deemed it to be the first of many.

"What time does the game start?" Shelby asked.

"Seven. I'm not sure how long it will last. I'm not a sports kind of girl, if you can't tell, and have never watched a game. Well, except that one time I was ten and I had my appendix out. Dad and Daddy had to go to California for some job thing and so I had to stay with my uncle Bobby, he's dead now but uncle Bobby stayed home from work to take care of me. He was really cool and brought me tons of ice cream, this was before I was vegan." Rachel began to ramble, not realizing that's exactly what she was doing. Shelby made no move to stop her as she found this part of Rachel adorable but didn't over look the fact that her dads we're there for her when she had her appendix taken out. "Anyway, he only watched football the entire time I was home from school. That along with the medicine they gave me for the pain, helped me sleep."

"How about you call or text me when the game ends and I will tell you what time to be home?" Shelby concluded. She wasn't sure how long the game would last and figured it was best to be lenient as this was probably the first time in a long time Rachel had been given rules or curfew and didn't want an argument to ensue.

"I suppose that works." Rachel nodded and paused for quite some time. "I don't understand why everyone complains about how hard it is to negotiate curfews with their parents. It's easy."

Shelby gave a belly laugh at Rachel's statement. Rachel turned her head to her mom and gave her a questioning look. "Well, Rach, normally parents give their kid a set time, like ten or eleven. They refuse to budge and of course this infuriates the child."

"Why aren't I getting a set time?" Rachel asked. "Do you not want to parent me?"

Shelby pulled into the driveway and put the car in park, turning to face Rachel. "That's not it at all. I want to be your mom Rachel, I really do."

"Then what is it?"

"I think it's safe to say you've been without parental guidance for some time. There hasn't been anyone to tell you what time you have to be home or what to do and when to do it, am I right?"

"Yeah." Rachel nodded her head, trying to keep her voice from sounding like Shelby was dumb. Did she not hear what Rachel said the night before?

"I'm trying to be your parent without being your parent until you feel more comfortable with me. I'm your mom but I haven't been your mom and I don't want the sudden change from having distant parents to having a 24/7 parent to be hard on you, as it already is." Shelby explained. "Do you understand?"

"I do." Rachel replied.

"Good." Shelby smiled and then turned off the car so they could go inside.

As they walked up to the front door, Rachel held her poster close to her and followed Shelby into the house.

"Take your shoes off and take your poster to your room." Shelby said, dumping her things on the small table that sat near the front door.

Rachel walked past her mom and went up the stairs but stopped after just two steps.

"Mom?"

"Yes, sweetheart?" Shelby replied, moving to stand at the bottom of the stairs.

"It's my first date." Rachel said, nervously. "I'm not sure what to wear, can you help me?"

"Tell ya what, you go upstairs and get all your clothes out of your suitcases and put them on your bed. I'll make us a snack and bring up to eat while we find you an outfit." Shelby thought out. "Sound like a plan?"

"Totally." Rachel grinned.

"Alright, go on." Shelby turned Rachel back up the stairs and continued on to the kitchen.

A quarter to seven, Rachel skipped down the stairs, dressed in the skirt and blouse Shelby and Rachel had decided upon. It was a challenge for Shelby, seeing as Rachel's taste in clothing was so different from Shelby's but the woman had pulled it off. Rachel's damp, stringy hair hung down her back and shoulders, needing a good brushing. Shelby pulled out the chair from the kitchen table and pulled it to the middle of the floor. Rachel sat down, her leg bouncing rapidly as she was worried about being late and if the date would go well.

Shelby finished braiding the piece of hair on the left side of Rachel's hair and pinned it back. She added a light layer of hairspray to keep Rachel's fly aways tamed. Rachel held up two of her four tubes of lip gloss.

"Cherry or vanilla?" Rachel asked.

Shelby raised a brow and reached over Rachel's head and picked up a tube of non-flavored lip gloss, handing it to the girl.

"That stuff doesn't taste good."

"I know."

Rachel huffed but rubbed some of the goo on her lips, as Shelby had taken her other lip glosses away. Shelby gave her a short list of rules, mainly telling her to call her after the game, to wear her seatbelt, and to not go anywhere but to McKinley, the restaurant, and then home. Rachel rolled her eyes several times during the mini lecture and Shelby did her best to ignore it. Eventually she was allowed to leave with Shelby giving her one last rule.

"Have fun." Shelby stated.

Shortly after Rachel left, Shelby grabbed her phone from her purse and called her mother back. They spoke briefly over the phone earlier in the day before Shelby went to work. Vivi, Shelby's mom, had been stunned but overjoyed that her daughter and granddaughter had been reunited. And as much as Shelby protested, Vivi had invited herself to Shelby's home that weekend. She was due to arrive the following afternoon and leave Sunday night. Shelby was going to tell Rachel but after the talk of the date, Shelby knew Rachel was nervous for that and didn't want to put added worry on the girl over meeting her grandmother.

"What are you two doing tonight?" Vivi asked.

"Nothing. Well, I'm not anyway. Rachel went out on a date." Shelby said. "Her first date."

"With who?"

"A boy from her glee club. He's one of the ones that had broken into the choir room."

"And you let her go with him?"

"I didn't want too at first but while we were finding her something to wear, she told me more about him. He seems like a sweet boy, who just gets caught up in the pressure of being popular. If Rachel can give him a chance, I suppose I can too."

"I hope he doesn't hurt her." Vivi replied.

"If he knows what's best for him, he won't." Shelby said. "Anyway, I am just gonna hang around the house, maybe put Rachel's things away for her while I wait for Rachel to call and let me know what time the game is over so I can give her an official time to be home after their dinner."

"You let him drive her? Are you sure that was a good idea, especially since you're not sure what his intentions are?"

"No, Rachel drove herself." Shelby said, climbing the stairs to Rachel's room. Putting away Rachel's things sounded like a good thought seeing as it might help Rachel feel more at home.

"She's fifteen!" Vivi exclaimed.

"And has her own car." Shelby replied. "If her dads trusted her enough to drive, then I am going to have to trust her too."

"I can't believe you are okay with this, Shelby."

"What are you talking about?" Shelby asked, getting aggravated.

"Rachel turned fifteen just five months ago, she's too young to have a license. Hell, she's too young to have a permit."

Shelby froze, realizing her mother was right. Her fifteen year old was driving around without any type of license and god only knows how long that had been going on. Vivi could tell Shelby wasn't interested in continuing any sort of conversation and told her daughter she had to go make dinner. Shelby chucked her phone onto Rachel's bed and paced the length of the room in an angry fashion. This wasn't completely Rachel's fault. Had the Berry's been around more often than not, Rachel wouldn't be driving. However, that didn't take away from the fact that Rachel was aware that driving without a license was illegal and wrong.

She picked her phone up once again and was about to call Rachel but stopped. Once again she was unsure of what to do. It was Rachel's first date and she didn't want to ruin it. Not only that, she'd just gotten done explaining that she was trying to be cautious about the amount of parenting she was going to put on Rachel. Instead of calling Rachel, Shelby opened their conversation during Rachel's lunch and typed out a new message.

-Call me the moment the game is over.

-I know you told me that like a million times. I will

Shelby refrained from calling Rachel out on her sarcasm. She wasn't sure if Rachel was being sarcastically funny or being seriously sarcastic because Shelby wasn't there to do a thing about it. Two hours and some minutes later, Rachel's name appeared on the caller ID of Shelby's phone. The mom had put her shoes on close to forty-five minutes ago and had her keys right next to her phone. She grabbed both items, answering the phone as she walked out the front door.

"Is the game over?" Shelby asked, keeping a neutral tone to her voice.

"Yes." Rachel answered and went to ask what time she had to be home but Shelby cut her off.

"Meet me at the front of the school." Shelby stated.

"O-o-okay." Rachel stammered, hearing some anger in Shelby's voice.

While waiting for Shelby, Rachel was wringing her hands and chewing on her bottom lip. It wasn't even five minutes later when a set of headlights momentarily blinded her and then the car parked along the front of the building. Shelby turned off her car and got out, slamming the door shut.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked.

"Give me your car keys." Shelby demanded with her hand out.

"M-my keys? Why?" Rachel asked, passing them to Shelby.

"Rachel?" Finn asked, coming around the corner. "What's going on? Why are you talking to her?"

"She'll meet you at the restaurant." Shelby said, dismissing the boy.

"Rachel?" Finn said, trying to get the girl's attention.

"I'll be there soon." Rachel softly answered. She knew she was in trouble but didn't want Finn to stick around to see it.

"You're not leaving New Directions are you? You can't do that to us." Finn said. He had heard rumors earlier but wasn't sure if he could believe it, seeing as it had come from Santana.

"No, that's not happening." Rachel moved to Finn with her arms folded across her chest.

"Then why are you talking to her?"

"Because." Rachel replied, taking a deep breath. "She's my mom."

"What?"

"Look, I'll explain later and please don't tell anyone just yet." Rachel asked. "I'll meet you when I am done talking to Shelby."

"Fine." Finn sighed and walked off to go to his car. Rachel watched him, unable to turn and face her mother.

"Rachel." Shelby said. Rachel began biting her lip and turned around. Shelby crooked her finger at her and pointed to the spot in front of her. When Rachel didn't move from her spot, Shelby added a stern. "Now." And the girl found herself following Shelby's orders. Shelby hovered just slightly over the girl and Rachel shrunk back.

"Get in the car."

"Yes, Ma'am." Rachel squeaked out and scurried to get into the passenger seat.

Shelby didn't say another word and drove Rachel to meet Finn for the main part of their date. Rachel sat in the car, occasionally glancing at Shelby to figure out when and if she was going to say something. Coming to a stop, Shelby placed her finger over the unlock button and looked at Rachel. Her anger had built up over the time she had waited for Rachel to call and more so on the way to the school. Now that she had Rachel in the car and had seen the fear in her daughter's eyes, Shelby had managed to calm herself down.

"You have one hour." Shelby said. Her voice was gentle but it didn't offer Rachel much relief and Shelby could see this. As mad as she was, she knew Rachel's insecurities and leaned over, kissing Rachel's forehead.

"Mom, I-"

"I'll be back in an hour to pick you up." Shelby cut Rachel off and softly told her they could talk once they got home. "You can explain then."

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**A/N: I hope you like this chapter. :)...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for your reviews and to everyone who is reading :)**

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Rachel shivered at the chilly night air. May was almost turning to June and Rachel couldn't wait for it to warm up some, though she was sad to put her sweaters away for a few months. As Finn's car passed by, the boy waved goodbye to Rachel and Rachel waved back with a huge smile on her face. The date had been good in her eyes. There was no talk of Quinn, Santana or the prank and the topic of their rocky history had been avoided as well. Finn was a gentleman and even though his meal was quite gross, he made sure not to let Rachel know how nasty he thought it was. Rachel had seen that Finn wasn't liking his food but opted not to say anything and thought it was sweet of Finn to not complain.

"Rachel!" Shelby called for the third time.

The girl was staring off in the direction Finn had left and didn't notice that Shelby had pulled into the parking lot just seconds later. Shelby honked the horn, getting Rachel's attention. She stifled a laugh when Rachel was yanked from her thoughts and blushed as she got into the car. Rachel clicked her seat belt in place and Shelby began the drive home.

"How was your night?"

"Wonderful." Rachel alluringly replied. At least up until she got home it was a good night, Shelby was sure to spend the rest of the night yelling at her.

Shelby walked through the front door, holding it open for Rachel to pass by. Their shoes were placed in the closet and sweaters were hung on the hooks that were screwed into the wall behind the front door. Shelby was quiet as she walked to the kitchen, Rachel followed close behind, waiting for the lecture. The mom sat down and motioned for Rachel to sit down across from her.

"How long have you been driving the car?" Shelby jumped right in.

"Four months, the middle of January." Rachel replied, chewing on her bottom lip. "I normally took the city bus to the grocery store but one night, it was shortly after midnight, I heard on the news that there was a big snow storm coming and school was canceled and all public transportation was being shut down. I didn't know the storm was coming or I would have gone shopping right after glee. I was out of almond milk and most of the foods I eat. I had no other choice."

"So you took the car."

"My dads had me start the car and drive it down the street and back to keep it from locking up, since they were away and wouldn't be home to drive. I was only going to do it the one time but then I started to do it more often."

"You're underage, Rachel." Shelby sternly said. "You have no legal right to be driving that car, even up and down the street like your dads asked you too."

"I know." Rachel replied with tears welling up in her eyes. "But I read both the car manual and the Driver's Ed booklet I got from the DMV."

"You drove to the DMV without any form of license and got the Driver's Ed booklet?" Shelby was astounded, especially since the DMV was connected to the Lima Police Department.

"Where's the car now?" Rachel asked when Shelby hadn't said anything.

"One of my friends helped me get it back to your dads' house, where it will stay as your imaginary driver's license has been revoked." Shelby stated. "It was not okay for you to drive, Rachel."

"What's my punishment?" Rachel bowed her head.

"I've been thinking about this all night." Shelby started. "While you knew it was wrong of you to drive underage, I kinda did give you permission a few times to drive and I was too caught up in worrying and finding you, that I wasn't thinking straight and didn't make the connection that you were far too young. My friend who helped me tonight, is the vet at the humane society and they are looking for volunteers to help care for the animals. I volunteered your services to the humane society everyday next week, starting on Monday, from Five to Seven."

"I love animals!" Rachel squealed with delight.

"I figured by the sweaters you wear." Shelby smiled but Rachel's faded and she looked embarrassed. "I find them to be adorable."

"You do?" Rachel asked.

"Yup." Shelby said. "The black one with the penguin is my favorite. I saw it when I was putting away your clothes."

"It's my favorite too." Rachel said but Shelby already knew this as the sweater was starting to look more worn out than the others.

"I hope you don't mind that I put your things away."

"I don't have anything to hide." Rachel shrugged. "And I appreciate you doing that for me."

"It was no problem at all." Shelby said and move the conversation back to her wrong doings. "You are not to drive any motor vehicle until you are licensed and have my permission. On top of that I do not want you getting into another car with anyone unless I tell you it's okay to have someone else drive you."

"Yes ma'am." Rachel nodded.

"I'm trusting you to not break these rules Rachel and I don't want to not be able to trust you."

"You can always trust me." Rachel said.

"Sounds good to me." Shelby said. "And I know there may be times where you misbehave and get into trouble but I'll always love you and will give you the chance to regain my trust."

"Good." Rachel smiled.

Shelby returned the smile, picking up her phone as it rang beside her on the table. Seeing it was her mom and she has not had the chance to talk to Rachel about her, Shelby decided to take the call in the other room.

"Why don't you go down to the studio and I'll be down in a sec?" Shelby said, pressing the green answer button on her phone.

"Can we sing some songs?" Rachel perked up.

"Sure, pick out three." Shelby said. "Its getting late and you need some sleep." Rachel's mouth opened and she was about to protest but Shelby held up a hand stopping her. "Three or none, take your pick."

"Four?" Rachel began her first negotiation.

"Two."

"That's going the wrong way!"

"Then take the three." Shelby strongly suggested.

And Rachel took the suggestion. "Fine." She pouted and went down to search through Shelby's second and smaller sheet music collection in the studio.

"Nice job, mom." Vivi chuckled to her daughter.

"Thanks, if only it was always that easy." Shelby laughed, walking up the stairs. "Although, I can't complain, the talk with Rachel went very well. She was very open about everything."

"And her punishment?"

"She'll be feeding, watering, walking, and cleaning out dog kennels at the humane society. Pam said they needed help, so Rachel will spend two hours everyday after school next week helping out." Shelby said. "I know it's not much of a punishment but I think it's sufficient enough in this case."

"You don't need to explain yourself, you're her mother and whatever you decide to be her punishment is up to you." Vivi said. "Anyway, I was just calling to let you know I will be leaving my house around 10 in the morning so I'll be there about 12:30."

"Great, I'll make a reservation for lunch around 1:30ish? Is that okay?"

"Sure, if a late lunch is okay with you and Rachel."

"We'll be fine." Shelby assured her.

Rachel had a small stack of sheet music spread over Shelby's piano as she tried to narrow the pile from ten songs to three. After a second thought, ten became six but the decision of the final three wasn't any easier.

Shelby's bare feet, made little noise as she walked down the carpeted steps. She stood on the bottom stair and watched as Rachel tapped her pursed lips with her finger, occasionally stopping to make a comment to herself.

"I don't think Shelby can hit the high notes." Rachel muttered, tossing a booklet to the side, bringing the count to five choices.

"I can so hit the high notes." Shelby playfully scoffed, making her presence known.

"Are you sure? I have quite a range, I'm not sure you'll be able to keep up with me as I am sure you haven't been regularly exercising your vocal cords outside the usual warm ups with your robotic glee club." Rachel shrugged. "I'm sure if it got out that your daughter is more talented in the vocal sense, your high reputation as being the best show choir coach in the nation-"

"-Internationally." Shelby corrected. "We've won internationals the last two years, I'm the only coach to win that title consecutively as well."

"Right." Rachel said. "Well anyway, your reputation will be defaced considerably."

"Well we certainly don't want that to happen." Shelby said, sitting at the piano. "Pick which ever songs you believe will uphold my reputation."

"I have it narrowed down to five." Rachel said. "But I really wanna hear you sing this."

"Funny Girl?" Shelby asked, taking the sheet music from Rachel.

"Yeah." She smiled at her mother.

It was well after midnight, eight songs, and two choreographed routines later that Shelby collapsed over the lid of the piano. She was tired and a quick glance at Rachel told her the girl was tired as well. Shelby let out a deep yawn and walked over to Rachel. The teen was laying on the floor with her eyes closed and Shelby was pretty sure if she laid there any longer, she'd fall asleep. Taking Rachel's hand, the girl opened her eyes and let her mom help her to her feet.

"This was a lot of fun." Rachel leaned into Shelby.

"It was." Shelby agreed, wrapping her arms around Rachel's body to hold her steady. "But now it's time for bed."

"Can't we stay up a little later?"

"You've already been up way past your weekend bedtime."

"I know but one more song?" Rachel begged.

"Maybe tomorrow." Shelby replied.

"Today tomorrow or tomorrow tomorrow?"

"Later." Shelby answered, confused by Rachel's question.

"Okay." Rachel yawned.

"Come now, up the stairs." Shelby led her and flipped the lights off as they went. They stopped in the kitchen so Shelby could take some aspirin as she was sure to be sore in the morning.

"Can I have some juice?" Rachel asked.

"Just a little bit." Shelby nodded and poured her a glass of grape juice. "While you're drinking, I have something to tell you."

"Oh?" Rachel responded, raising a brow.

"Your grandmother, my mom, is staying Saturday afternoon through Sunday night. I only found out before I picked you up from school but you were already worried about your date and I didn't want to add to your worry."

"Oh." Rachel repeated.

"Are you okay with this? I tried to hold her off for a few weeks but she's one of those who tends to invite herself in." Shelby explained. "I can call her before she leaves her house to get her to change her mind."

"I'll have to meet her at some point, right?" Rachel asked.

"Probably, yes."

"Then I'd rather do it this weekend than at some holiday or family get together." Rachel said. "I'd be more uncomfortable if we waited." Rachel paused and looked up at her mom. "Does your mom want to meet me?"

"That's why she's coming silly."

"I mean is she happy to meet me? Or does she want to meet me with intentions of telling you not too take me in?"

"Rach, she's overjoyed and thrilled to see you."

"What about-"

"-it's not gonna happen." Shelby said. "No one can talk me out of it. Not even you."

"If you say so." Rachel said, finishing her juice.

"Go on and get ready for bed." Shelby said, motioning towards the stairs and took Rachel's cup to rinse it out. As she walked upstairs, she noticed Rachel's door was still closed and went into her own room to change for bed. A few minutes later, she emerged and went into Rachel's room, finding the girl already asleep. Covering her with a blanket, Shelby kissed Rachel's cheek and turned out the light.

With minutes to spare before Vivi's arrival, Rachel walked down the stairs, freshly showered and wearing her red argyle sweater, red skirt, white tights, and black Mary Janes. Her hair damply hung past her shoulders and she pushed a red headband into her locks.

"You look so cute." Shelby gushed.

"I was going for sophisticated." Rachel pouted with a sigh.

"You're cutely sophisticated." Shelby said to make Rachel feel better. She could see Rachel was trying to dress with what was currently in style, however, the look just wasn't put together the right way. As much as she wanted to help Rachel out, this was Rachel's style and she didn't want to hurt Rachel's feelings. "Split an orange with me?" Shelby asked, holding up the fruit.

"Sure." Rachel nodded and hopped onto a stool to watch Shelby cut up the orange. Her cellphone buzzed in her skirt pocket and her brows furrowed when she saw the message was from Kurt.

_-When did you plan on telling us Shelby was your mother? I bet that's why you got out of your detentions and didn't want to go to Carmel with us._

As Rachel read his message, one from Artie came through

_-I knew it was only a matter of time before you stabbed us in the back. Have fun with your new team._

"Is it Finn?" Shelby asked, sliding a paper towel holding four wedges of the orange.

"Uh, yeah." Rachel stammered as she replied to the messages. Neither boy wanted to believe Rachel wasn't going anywhere or that she didn't know that Shelby was her mom. She didn't respond to their second texts but opened a new message to Finn.

_-I asked you not to tell anyone about my mom._

_-They had the right to know._

_-Finn, that wasn't for you to tell everyone._

_-look, I have to go. I'll see you Monday._

Rachel turned off her phone and slid it across the counter, letting it hit the wall where she left it and focused on eating. She didn't want anymore texts to ruin her day and she really didn't think she could read another one without crying. Shelby raised her brow and slid the phone to her.

"What did it ever do to you?" Shelby asked, holding the device.

"Nothing." Rachel grumbled.

"Did Finn break up with you?"

"Why do you assume he broke up with me? Because I don't look like Quinn? Or have blonde hair and prance around like a snob?" Rachel stood up, raising her voice. "Maybe I was the one who broke up with him?"

"You broke up with him? I thought-"

"I didn't break up with him! We haven't broken up at all." Rachel shouted and stormed up to her bedroom, slamming the door closed.

Shelby stood in the kitchen highly confused as to what just happened. She wondered if she was ever that moody and had the sudden urge to apologize to her mother. Throwing away the little mess from their snack, Shelby started to go up the stairs but the doorbell stopped her. Retreating back down to the main floor, Shelby picked up a pair of Rachel's shoes and tossed them into the closet and pulled open the front door.

"Shelby!" Vivi exclaimed.

"Hi Ma." Shelby said, stepping into her mother's outstretched arms. "How was your drive?"

"Very nice." Vivi said, walking into the house. Shelby took her things and put them in the closet for the time being. "Where's my grandbaby?"

"She's up in her room." Shelby said. "She might not be in the best of moods. "

"Uh oh, what did you do?"

"Me?" Shelby gasped, her eyes wide. "What makes you think it was me? All I did was ask a simple question and she flipped the fuck out and went up to her room, slamming the door."

"Sounds like someone I know." Vivi murmured.

"As if!" Shelby scoffed.

"Please, your favorite response to simple questions was to shout and storm out of the room."

"I don't remember that at all." Shelby shook her head and motioned for Vivi to follow her upstairs. She knocked on Rachel's door.

"What?" Rachel bellowed from her bed.

"Open the door." Shelby asked, turning the locked handle.

Rachel rolled her eyes and unlocked her door. She didn't get the chance to open the door as Shelby beat her to it. Rachel's eyes met Shelby's stern gaze. She knew they'd be having a talk later but for now Shelby's face softened and the two women in the hallway moved into the bedroom. Rachel stepped back but found herself standing closer to Shelby.

"Rachel, this is your grandmother, Vivi."

"Call me Nana." Vivi said, feeling much too young to be called grandma. "It's so nice to meet you."

"Its nice to meet you." Rachel politely smiled. "I'm looking forward to spending the weekend with you."

"I feel the same way dear." Vivi said, cupping Rachel's cheek.

"Ma would you like to freshen up a bit before we leave?" Shelby asked, seeing that Rachel felt a little off.

"I'd like too, yes." Vivi nodded and excused herself from the room to go down and get her suitcases.

Rachel thought Shelby was going to follow Vivi out but instead, Shelby closed the door and motioned for Rachel to sit down. She grabbed the chair from Rachel's desk and pulled it So she could sit in front of Rachel.

"I yelled at you." Rachel said, playing with her fingers.

"Yes you did but that's not what my concern is. I'm trying to understand what caused you to get so upset."

"Nothing." Rachel shortly answered, making sure not to come across as sassy.

"Nothing?" Shelby skeptically asked. "I highly doubt it was nothing. What's going on?"

"Finn told everyone that you're my mom."

"Oh." Shelby replied.

"I just, I trusted him to not tell anyone and he knew I wanted to wait until after Regionals to say something."

"How is everyone taking the news?" Shelby asked.

"They're fine with it." Rachel lied. "But it still bothers me that he went against my wishes."

"Have you talked to him about how you are feeling?"

"No, he couldn't really talk." Rachel shook her head. "He had to go do something."

"Try not to be mad at him until you can talk it out." Shelby advised. "I am sure Finn's worried because we're suppose to be rivals, especially with the competition weeks away. As long as everyone knows that you're not going behind their back and transferring schools, everything will be fine. I bet you that Monday after you explain the situation to them, they'll understand."

"Right." Rachel said, not convinced.

"Rach." Shelby said to her doubtful daughter.

"Can we go see if Nana is ready?" Rachel asked, standing up.

"Alright." Shelby agreed. "And Rachel?"

"Yes?" Rachel asked, stopping to look at Shelby.

"While it's acceptable for you to be angry, yelling at me, walking away from me when I am talking to you, and slamming your door, isn't going to be tolerated one bit. Understand?"

"Yes and I am sorry."

Rachel was partially engaged in the conversation for the first few minutes of the drive but after awhile, Vivi and Shelby began to discuss Shelby's cousin Martha and Rachel put her earbuds in her ears and turned on her iPod. Shelby stole a glance at Rachel in the backseat and smiled when she saw that Rachel had fallen asleep.

"Does her dads know she's with you yet?" Vivi asked, taking her own look at Rachel.

"I spoke to my lawyer yesterday and she said they'll be served with the paperwork either today or Monday." Shelby said. "I'm only asking that my parental rights be reinstated and they give me full custody. They can keep their rights and see Rachel whenever they'd like but she needs to be living in a house where she comes first. I haven't told Rachel yet but I'm thinking of taking her to the phone store tomorrow to get her a phone on my plan. I don't want them calling and blowing up her phone."

"That's a good idea, considering you don't know how they're going to react." Vivi agreed.

"Rachel is sensitive and I tend to have to be careful about how I word things or react to her. I don't want the men to pick up on that and use it against her to try and guilt her into going back to them."

"Do you think she would?" Vivi asked. "Go back to them, that is."

"I don't want her too." Shelby answered, peeking at Rachel. "Not just because I think she needs a more stable household with a parent who is consistently home and actually cares. I love her mom and I don't want to miss another moment. Even times like this, when she's sleeping. I could just sit and watch her sleep for hours. With me, she's safe and taken care of. If she went back, I'd be a worried mess and who knows if they'd let her see me again."

"Perhaps she can see the difference between houses and know that with you is the better choice." Vivi said as Shelby parked in a parking spot infront of the restaurant.

"I hope." Shelby whispered to herself as she got out and shouldered her purse. She opened the back door and stepped up into the car to lean over Rachel and wake the girl up. "Hey, baby, you gotta get up."

"Mom?" Rachel yawned, turning her head to look up at Shelby. "Are we there yet?"

"We're here." Shelby nodded and brushed some of Rachel's hair from her face. She got out of the car and helped Rachel out as well. She laughed at Rachel's bed head but reached out and fixed her hair before shutting the door and locking the car. Shelby wrapped an arm around Rachel's shoulder as they walked into the restaurant. "Did you sleep okay?" She asked, noting that Rachel still seemed like she could use more sleep. "You look really worn out."

"Yeah, I guess I'm tired from last night." Rachel said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Next time we'll have to start earlier."

"Or, I need to build a defense to your wide doe like eyes." Shelby quietly said to herself.

"What was that, mom?" Rachel asked looking at Shelby.

"Nothing sweetheart." Shelby said, refusing to acknowledge that Rachel had successfully manipulated her.

"Okay." Rachel said. A smirk momentarily crossed her face.


	4. Chapter 4

During their lunch, Shelby had received a call from Dustin, who needed her assistance with the Saturday rehearsal. Shelby at first told him she wasn't available but Vivi had urged Shelby to go, giving her some time to bond with Rachel alone. Rachel had relaxed considerably and thought hanging out with her grandma while Shelby went into work for a little bit would be fun. She told Shelby it was okay for her to go in and she was sure she'd have a good time with Vivi. The three finished their lunch and Shelby drove them all to Akron, parking in front of the school.

"I can drive us." Rachel said, moving to climb over the seats to get into the driver's side.

"HA!" Shelby snorted and pushed Rachel to sit in the front passenger seat. "You're funny little one."

"I still can't believe you let her drive." Vivi shook her head.

"I wasn't thinking." Shelby exclaimed. "I was overwhelmed with finding my daughter and taking her in. The fact that she wasn't old enough to drive totally went over my head."

"I'll be old enough to drive soon." Rachel piped up. "My sixteen birthday is only eight months away."

"And that's eight months that you won't be getting behind the wheel, plus perhaps a few months after that."

"What? Why can't I get my permit on my birthday?" Rachel asked.

"Because it's a privilege not a right." Shelby stated, giving her mother the car keys.

"Having you as a mother is a privilege." Rachel buttered up sweetly.

"Awe, you're so cute." Shelby smiled, cupping Rachel's cheek. She leaned forward and kissed Rachel's cheek, then gave her a hug. "But you still have to earn the chance to get your permit."

"Mom." Rachel whined as Shelby pulled back.

"Honey, you have eight long months before you have the worry about it." Shelby said. "For now just enjoy your day with Nana and I will call you guys when I'm finished up here."

"Where should we go first?" Vivi asked her granddaughter as they pulled into the parking lot of Akron Mall.

Rachel shrugged and the two settled on walking around until they found a store one of them wanted to go into. Rachel started to share some stories of herself as they entered the mall. Vivi paid close attention, wanting to soak up everything that was being shared. The more Rachel talked, the more Vivi noticed that she was very much like Shelby and she also could see what Shelby meant when she said Rachel was sensitive.

"Mother's day is in two weeks, maybe we can find something for you to give her?" Vivi suggested, leading Rachel into a jewelery store. "What do you think about this ring?"

"That's cute." Rachel said, getting on her tip toes to look over the glass. "Oh, what about that necklace?"

"The music note one?" Vivi asked of the beamed sixteenth note.

"Would you like to see it?" The man behind the counter asked and Rachel nodded. "The beam is made up of diamonds and I have have the stones at the bottom of the music note customized with your birthstone."

"When's mom's birthday?" Rachel asked, Vivi as she held the necklace in her hand.

"May 30th." Vivi answered. "It's thirty-three days away, we can find a birthday present too."

"You sure? I don't want to spend a lot." Rachel said, adding up the prices of the necklace and ring.

"Don't worry about money dear." Vivi said. "Let Nana spoil her only grandchild."

"Yes Ma'am." Rachel grinned. Her dads had never spoiled her for the heck if it or because they wanted to make her feel special, it was usually to get Rachel to stop being mad at them for missing something important. "So is Shelby your only child?"

"Yup. Her father and I decided Shelby was enough."

"Because she was a handful?" Rachel asked.

"That." Vivi laughed. "But mostly because we felt adding another baby to our family would take away from Shelby and we couldn't do that to our child."

"I wish my dads thought that way; that I was enough. Or maybe I was too much." Rachel thought out loud. It was all so confusing for Rachel and after seven years of trying to figure out what kept her dads away, Rachel was still unsure. She let out a sigh and shook it off. "Excuse me, does it cost extra to have the ring engraved? It's the first mother's day my mom will be celebrating and I want it to be special."

"Her first mother's day?" The man named Mike asked.

"Yeah." Rachel said. "It's kinda a long story."

"I see."

"Yeah, she was the surrogate my dads hired to carry their baby and she gave up her rights to me when I was born. We finally met a couple days ago and are living together now. She wants to be my mom."

"That's an amazing story." Mike said. "Tell you what, I'll take off the fee to have the ring engraved."

"Really?"

"Sure." Mike nodded.

"Thanks." Rachel smiled. "I really appreciate it."

Mike handed Rachel the engraving slip and had her fill it out. Vivi helped Rachel with figuring out Shelby's ring size and Mike said they could always bring it back to have it fitted to Shelby's finger. The girls had about an hour before the necklace and ring would be ready. In the hour they had to wait, Vivi stuck to her promise to spoil Rachel. The girl had scored three new dresses, a sweater, a pair of red flats, six headbands, and a new wallet that was plastered with gold stars. And now Vivi was paying for a bed set for Rachel's bed. She had seen that Rachel's bedroom at Shelby's wasn't decorated outside of what Shelby had put together when she first moved into the house.

"And then she ran from our tent to the lake, butt naked."

"No!" Rachel gasped in amusement.

"Yup, your mama loved to swim." Vivi replied."And couldn't wait long enough for me to find her swim suit, so there she was streaking the campsite as she went to the lake."

She had been telling Rachel the story of the first time she and Shelby's father, Jim, had taken Shelby camping at a local lake when Shelby was three.

"Did she get into trouble?" Rachel asked as they left the homegoods store.

"Not that day but she sure did find herself over her daddy and I's laps over the years." Vivi said. "She'll tell you that she was a perfect little angel who never got in trouble but she's lying."

"What did she do?"

"What didn't she do?" Vivi corrected with a chuckle.

Two hours passed and finally it was time to pick up Shelby. Rachel followed Vivi out of the current jewelry store directed for teens, admiring her newly pierced ears. Once in the car, Rachel took the bag that held Shelby's necklace and ring and hid it underneath the passenger seat. Rachel continued to play with her earrings in the mirror of the visor as Vivi drove the two blocks to Carmel High. Shelby saw the car entering the school property and waved off some of her students.

"So? Let me see." Shelby said as Rachel climbed out of the front seat. Rachel tossed her hair over her shoulders and grinned as Shelby checked out her piercings.

"Do you like them?" Rachel asked, fixing her hair.

"Absolutely." Shelby nodded.

"Thank you for letting me get them done. I've always wanted my ears pierced." Rachel hugged Shelby.

"You're welcome, Rach." Shelby smiled. "What else did you get?" She asked as they headed back to Lima.

"Some clothes, a pair of shoes, headbands, and a wallet." Rachel started to list. "And Nana got me a pair of gold star earrings to wear after the six weeks of healing is over."

Shelby glanced over at her mother and silently hoped her mother didn't go over the top with spending money on Rachel. She didn't mind Rachel being spoiled a little bit but also knew her mom could go overboard. During the ride home, Rachel told Shelby all about the shopping trip and Shelby noticed the change in Rachel. Over lunch, Rachel remained reserved, trying to figure out where she belonged in the small family. Now the girl was comfortably chatting away.

At home, Rachel immediately slipped upstairs and hid Shelby's presents between the mattresses of her bed, leaving the rest of her bags on top of the bed. On her way to down to ask her mom and grandma if they could watch a movie, Rachel heard her mother's slightly raised and seemingly annoyed voice. She quietly stood on the bottom stairs and listened to the conversation.

"Three hundred dollars on a pair of earrings? Mom, that's too much."

"It's my money." Vivi shrugged.

"But she is my daughter and I don't want you spoiling her so much."

"You suggested I take her shopping." Vivi said. "She spend the twenty dollars you gave her on headbands and I wanted to buy her a few things, so I did."

"But four hundred and thirty two dollars?" Shelby exclaimed.

"Why are you being so uptight? I spoiled you like this when you were her age."

"Yes but you were my mother and it was your choice. I am her mother and it's my choice."

"You are her mother, yes, but I am her grandmother and this is what grandmothers do."

Rachel returned upstairs and closed her bedroom door, leaning against it for support. She began to quietly sob as she slid down the door and pulled her knees to her chest. Shelby and Vivi were close but now that they were having a disagreement over Rachel, the girl was sure Shelby would be mad at her. To make things right, Rachel was going to have to return the gifts to her Nana. Rachel took her headbands out of one of the bags and carried the rest of the things, Shelby's presents included, to the music room where Shelby had set up an air mattress for Vivi.

One floor below, Vivi and Shelby agreed that Vivi's spoiling of Rachel would be allowed this one time. However, for Birthdays and Holidays, Vivi was given a spending limit, as well as a limit on how much she could spend on Rachel during visits. They hugged it out and Vivi decided to go upstairs to take a short hour long nap. There was still a few hours before dinnertime and none of the three women were hungry just yet.

Shelby finished listening to her messages on her home voicemail and followed her mom up the stairs to fetch Rachel. Groceries were getting low and there was hardly any food left for Rachel to eat. While Vivi slept, Rachel and Shelby would be going to the grocery store and come home to make something for dinner, then following dinner, Shelby thought they'd go to the Lima Community Fair that was running all weekend long. Shelby wasn't sure if Rachel was an amusement park kind of girl but it might be something that interested the girl. As Shelby walked past Vivi's room to go to Rachel's, she was stopped by her mom.

"Shelby, we have a problem." Vivi said, handing Shelby a hand written letter from Rachel. "I found it on my bed along with the bags from shopping."

"What?" Shelby whispered as she read over the letter. According to the letter, Rachel was sorry and was going to leave so Shelby didn't have to go through the hassle of kicking her out.

"I think Rachel overheard us talking." Vivi said.

"Oh no." Shelby sighed, fingering one of the corners of the letter. "She must have thought we were fighting. I need to go talk to her."

"I get her things." Vivi said, sending Shelby ahead to hide the bag of her things so she could give them to Rachel later on in private.

Rachel was in the process of taking her clothing off the hanger and neatly folding them into her suitcase, trying to be quick before Shelby got even madder that she was taking so long. She had told Shelby she'd be out before dinner and wanted to keep to her promise. Someone knocked on the door and Rachel wiped away the wet spots around her eyes just as Shelby turned the door handle and pushed the door open just a few inches, trying to not peer into the room.

"Rach? Can I come in?"

"Yeah." Rachel replied and sat on her bed as the door opened further.

Shelby stepped into the room and saw that Rachel was really leaving. She didn't understand it one bit. Her voice hadn't been raised and most definitely wasn't yelling at Vivi and Vivi wasn't yelling at her. Not once did either say a cross word to the other. Shelby didn't want Rachel to leave and even though she knew there would come a time where Rachel was going to be ready to flee the nest, Shelby had already begun creating excuses as to why Rachel needed to stick around longer.

To appear less intimidating, Shelby pulled the chair from Rachel's desk and sat down, facing Rachel. "So, Nana found your bags from the mall on her bed, the letter too. What's that about?"

"I'm giving them back and I'm leaving."

"I figured that much but why?"

"It made you mad that your mom bought them for me and you were fighting. I don't wanna ruin your relationship with her."

"Rachel, I-"

"I mean you two are really close and I would understand if you chose to keep your relationship with your mother over me. I'm use to living alone at my dads and it doesn't bother me to have to go back. Maybe we could have dinner once in a while? Only if you want too, though."

"Rachel-"

"You don't have to and I promise I won't call or be a bother to you."

"Rachel." Shelby sternly said, cutting Rachel off finally.

"I'm sorry." Rachel's eyes began to water. "I should have known."

"Hey, come now." Shelby said, pulling Rachel to sit on her lap. She wiped away Rachel's tears and tried to get the girl to stop producing new ones. "Listen, I-"

"You don't have to tell me. I already know what you're going to say."

"Rachel." Shelby authoritatively said. "I don't want you to say another word until I tell you, do you understand?"

"Yes Ma'am." Rachel squeaked out.

Shelby adjusted the two so she could be more comfortable and softened her voice. "I'm not mad at you or Nana."

"Bu-" Rachel started and clapped her hand over her mouth. "Sorry."

"It's quite alright." Shelby smiled gently and smoothed down a few of Rachel's fly away hairs. "I don't have a problem with Nana spending money on you, okay? My problem was how much she spent. My mom has a tendency to go overboard with how much she spends on people and every time we all get together, I don't want her to be dropping four and five hundred dollars. Your dads gave you everything you've ever wanted to keep you from being upset with them or to apologize for being away so much. I want to show you that there's more to being a family than buying nice and expensive things."

Shelby took a short pause to gauge Rachel's understanding of what she was saying and why she had the talk with Vivi. "I don't want to hurt your feelings but Rachel, you don't know what a real family is and it's something I want you to experience. I want you to be apart of a real family. My family."

"You're not gonna kick me out?" Rachel asked.

"Never." Shelby simply stated.

"So it's okay that I stay?" Rachel asked, just to be safe.

"It's more than okay. In fact, I am giving you five minutes to unpack, put your suitcase away and be downstairs dressed and ready to go to the grocery store with me."

"I'm sorry." Rachel said, staring down at her fingers that were laced in Shelby's. "You probably think I don't want to be here. I do but I'm trying to figure out what it is about me that makes my dads hate me. I'll stop doing whatever it is, that way you won't hate me either."

"Rach, your dads don't hate you." Shelby said, lifting Rachel's head up so they were making eye contact. "And I certainly will never hate you. Don't go changing anything about you because I love every little thing about you. From the way double blink at random times, right down to the cute little expressions you make while singing. You're my little girl and I love you just the way you are."

"No one has ever told me that." Rachel whispered. "There's always something people find to complain about."

"The only complaint I have, is the fact that your things still haven't been unpacked again." Shelby chuckled when Rachel pouted.

"But mom, that's too much work."

"It's four things, honey." Shelby kissed Rachel's temple. "Get moving."

"Can't we just sit like this for awhile longer?" Rachel asked, cuddling into her mom.

Shelby was about to give a firm decline to Rachel's question but the feeling of the small girl trying to get as close as possible, Shelby couldn't form any words at all. Giving only the slightest nod, Shelby held on to Rachel tighter and used her foot against the bed to rock them from side to side. Rachel closed her eyes with an arm draped over her mother's shoulder, soaking in the sweetly delicate smell of Shelby's shampoo and body wash. A smell she never wanted to forget.

Rachel was the first one to make the move towards breaking apart. She blushed slightly as she started unpacking her things once again. Shelby helped her and they got done very quickly. Vivi poked her head into the room for the third time and disappeared once more, only to return moments later with Rachel's things.

"You're not done yet." Vivi smiled, placing the bags on the bed.

"Thank you, Nana." Rachel said, slipping her arms around Vivi's midsection.

"You're more than welcome, Love." Vivi kissed Rachel's head and patted her backside before moving Rachel to get started on putting her things away.

"Hold it." Shelby said putting her hand up. Rachel froze as she walked one of her dresses to the closet.

"What's the matter? I thought you said it was alright that I kept the stuff from today." Rachel said, glancing down at the navy and white polka dotted dress.

"It is." Shelby nodded. "But first you have to show me what you got."

"Oh." Rachel laughed.

Rachel finished showing Shelby all her finds and Shelby told Rachel that she would be trying the dresses on for Shelby to see later, before she was allowed to wear any of it outside the house. Rachel huffed in annoyance but at Shelby's threat to return everything, Rachel agreed. The evening continued on and Vivi had taken her nap, while Shelby and Rachel took a forty-five minute grocery shopping trip. The mother and daughter were now in the kitchen, putting away the food that was purchased.

"Mom?" Rachel asked as she stacked the canned goods in the cupboard.

"Yes, sweetie?" Shelby acknowledged with her head in the fridge, trying to put away all the fruit and veggies.

"Do you have a gag reflex?" Rachel asked, closing the cupboard.

Shelby immediately choked on the gum she was chewing on. Her brows crossed and she straightened up to look at Rachel. Where the hell did this come from?

"Why do you ask?" Shelby slowly asked, trying to recover from swallowing her gum.

"The other day at school, our school counselor said my lack of having the reflex would come in handy when I got older. I didn't know what she meant and didn't have anyone to ask but now I have you." Rachel shrugged, walking over to her mother. "So what did she mean by that?"

"Um...Uh..I think...You." Shelby stammered and quickly glanced down at her watch. "Oh what do you know, it's time for Nana to wake up. How about you go wake her up and we can have this talk later."

"Okay." Rachel went upstairs.

Shelby bent forward, laying her head on the cool counter top.

"God, please let her forget." Shelby begged. She thought Rachel might have some questions for her regarding sex and the female body but this was not what she was expecting to be asked. And why the hell is a grown ass adult saying that to a child in the first place?

Thankfully, Rachel had forgotten about her previous question when her and Vivi came down the steps fifteen minutes later. Rachel had never been to a fair, at least as far as she could remember, and she was excited to go. Just as quickly as Rachel had come down the stairs, Shelby sent her back up.

"But I wanna wear this." Rachel pouted. She had spent most of the fifteen minutes upstairs figuring out an outfit to wear. "Please Mom?"

"No." Shelby sternly said, turning Rachel around and gently pushing her to the stairs. "You're going to want to ride some rides but you cannot do that in a skirt." Shelby emphasized how serious she was about Rachel changing her clothes by landing a barely stinging swat to Rachel's backside. "Go now. You have five minutes."

"Oh, Mama." Rachel's eyes widened in awe. Her voice was low but full of excitement.

Shelby grinned at Rachel's name for her and she slipped her arm over Rachel's shoulders and walked her further into the fair grounds. Rachel didn't know at to look at first. There were over ten rides, rows and rows of the game booths, food carts, and a band playing on the stage. Vivi had paid for the three wristbands and handed Rachel's to Shelby so the mom could put it on Rachel.

"Where should we go to first?" Shelby asked, slipping her pinkie between Rachel's wrist and the band to make sure it wasn't too tight.

"That one!" Rachel pointed to the Ferris Wheel and she started to drag Shelby in that direction. "Come on, Nana!"

"I'll wait at the bottom for you." Vivi laughed. She believed she was too old for these kinds of things.

"You sure?" Rachel's brows furrowed.

"Go on." Vivi nodded.

Rachel continued to drag Shelby to the ride and she practically hopped from one foot to another, waiting very impatiently for her turn. Shelby pulled out her camera and snapped a few photos of Rachel craning her neck to see and ones of her staring up at the sky, looking at how high the wheel was. Shelby and Rachel only had to wait about four minutes before they were loaded into the cart. Rachel opted to sit on the outside so she could look down at Vivi and wave.

"Whoa." Rachel exclaimed grabbing the bar as the ride jerked forward. "Is it suppose to do that?"

"No." Shelby said, pretending to be concerned.

"I want off." Rachel said, looking down as they were now 40 to 50 feet above the ground.

"Honey." Shelby said, placing a calm hand on Rachel's white knuckled hand. She realized she shouldn't have joked around with it being Rachel's first time. "I was kidding, most of the rides jerk at first."

"I still don't know about this." Rachel said, still looking down. "It's getting awfully high." She looked over at Shelby with tear pricked eyes. "I don't like this. I want off."

"It's okay, Rachel." Shelby said, moving towards Rachel to comfort her. The seat rocked for the first time, startling Rachel, who thought they were going to tip backwards.

"Mama!" Rachel cried out, clinging to Shelby.

"It's okay, it's okay." Shelby said, wrapping her arms around Rachel.

"I want down, please mommy." Rachel said and buried her head into Shelby's shoulder, seeing that they reached the top. "I want down."

"The ride is almost over." Shelby whispered and began to hum something soothing.

By the third time around, Rachel had calmed some but was still holding on to her mom. Shelby was able to sit right, leaving one arm around Rachel and the other rested in her lap. Rachel's eyes were closed most of the time and she often peeked her eyes open to see where they were. As the ride came to an end, the ride stopped and started often to let people off and on. Rachel's grip around her mother's waist tightened when they came to a stop at the top. Her left eye cracked open just a bit as they sat and waited.

"I've never seen the sunset like this before." Rachel said, cautiously opening both eyes all the way. "It's pretty."

"It's very pretty." Shelby agreed but Shelby was more relieved that Rachel wasn't so worked up anymore.

Rachel only flinched when the ride jerked and remained calm as they reached the ground. The second Rachel and Shelby were freed from the cart, Rachel hopped off and ran over to Vivi.

"Did you see how high we were? It was fun. Can we go again mom?" Rachel begged.

Shelby was confused as she was sure it was Rachel who had spend half of the time on the Ferris wheel with tears in her eyes and her arms tightly holding on to Shelby. What happened to being afraid?

"Let's walk around some more. We can come back in a little bit." Shelby said and three moved on to the next ride.

And the next.

And the next.

Though Shelby didn't mind. Rachel was happy and having a good time and honestly, it felt good for Shelby to let loose and have fun too. After the sixth time on a ride, Shelby needed a small break but Rachel wasn't.

"Two more? Please?" Rachel begged. "Who knows when there'll be another fair!?"

"I'm not totally one with rides but I need a break." Shelby said and Rachel whined that with the fair closing in two hours, there was no time for a break. Looking around, Shelby spotted a ride that had a decent line. "How about you go get in line over there and I will get a quick drink and meet you over there?"

"Okay." Rachel sighed and walked off.

"She seems to be enjoying herself." Vivi said as they waited in line for some lemonade.

"She does." Shelby nodded as she glanced back to look at Rachel. "I don't think she's ever been able to do things like this."

"Now she has you to make sure she gets to have more experiences like this."

"Do you think I'm doing okay?" Shelby asked. "I don't wanna mess up. What if I do something wrong and she hates me?"

"Of course you are doing fine. Shelby, you're doing a great job with her. Sure you'll make mistakes along the way, Rachel will too, but you both will learn as you go." Vivi assured her daughter. While Shelby ordered the two lemonades, Vivi looked over at Rachel to see how close she was to the front of the line. "Hey, Rachel ran into one of her friends."

Shelby placed her change into her wallet and looked in Rachel's direction. "That's not one of Rachel's friends. That's Santana Lopez, one of the girls who placed the cricketing blame on Rachel." Shelby said and left her mom to collect the drinks so she could go over to Rachel.

She stopped several yards away from Rachel, seeing the girl's head bow and Santana walking away. Rachel wiped her face and got out of the line, making her way to her mom and Grandma.

"Rachel?" Shelby called when Rachel walked passed, not noticing that Shelby had been standing there.

"Sorry." Rachel glumly said.

"Is everything okay? What did Santana want?" Shelby asked. Rachel's eyes were lined with tears not enough to make her break down and cry.

"I'm fine." Rachel said, choosing to ignore the second question. "Can we play games or something?"

"Sure." Shelby said, wondering if she should push the Santana topic any further. However, Rachel walked away before she could say anything else.

Vivi passed Rachel one of the lemonade cups and Rachel began to drink from it, figuring her mother wouldn't mind. They walked to the first game booth that Rachel picked and Shelby reached for the cup, only getting a sip before Rachel asked for it back. Shelby took another small drink and gave it to Rachel. Vivi won the first game, getting all three rings on the neck of the bottle and picked out a lion stuffed animal for her husband. Shelby had won a glow stick necklace from hitting a balloon with a dart. She had activated the necklace and placed it around her neck. Rachel thought it made Shelby look creepy scary and Shelby huffed.

"I do not." Shelby mock pouted as she took the lemonade from Rachel. The straw made a gargling slurping sound and Shelby frowned at the empty cup.

"Whatever." Rachel rolled her eyes. "I wanna win a goldfish."

"Alright, here's five dollars. Have at it." Shelby said.

Rachel handed the attendant the money and received twenty balls in return. Ten tosses later and Rachel was getting annoyed. She hadn't even come close to the lip of any of the water filled cups. Dropping her hand, Rachel sighed.

"Where's your mommy this time, Berry?" Santana asked, walking over to Rachel with two fish bags in her hand and pretended to look around for Shelby, who was only twenty feet away. "Guess she disappeared just like your dads."

Rachel shoved the small bucket of ten ping pong balls off the wooden ledge and the attendant complained. Shelby had seen Santana walk past Rachel but the Latina's back was to Shelby and she didn't see that something had been said. Seeing Rachel's slight tantrum of pushing the bucket, Shelby knew something had happened and this time, she wasn't going to ignore it.

"Rachel." Shelby said, tucking the stuffed turtle she had won, under her arm. "What was that about?"

"Nothing."

"It's not nothing, Rachel. What has Santana been saying to you?"

"Just forget it."

"I can't just fo-"

"-I don't want to talk about it, Okay?" Rachel shouted. She went to walk past Shelby to storm away but a strong hand wrapped around her upper arm.

"Hey, you don't yell at me and you certainly do not walk away from me." Shelby said, pulling Rachel close to her. "I demand to know what Santana said."

"It doesn't matter." Rachel spat.

"Oh, I think it does."

"I'm going to wait by the car." Rachel said, ripping her arm from Shelby's grasp.

"Rachel!" Shelby hollered as the girl took of running.

"What's going on?" Vivi asked, stepping over to Shelby.

"I don't know but I am going to find out."

As Shelby and Vivi got closer to the car, Shelby saw that Rachel had been crying. The teen wiped her eyes and folded her arms, not wanting her mom and grandma to know she had been crying. Walking up to the car, Shelby noticed that Rachel didn't seem angry anymore and figured somewhere between the fish booth and car, Rachel had dropped her attitude. She was wrong.

Rachel slammed her car door shut and angrily clicked her seatbelt into place. Shelby sighed but again ignored her behavior and turned in her seat, placing the turtle in Rachel's lap.

"I won this for you. I tried to win the penguin but I didn't knock down enough bottles."

"You won this for me?" Rachel's brows turned down in confusion.

"Yup." Shelby gave a small smile.

"But why?"

"So you'll always have something to remind you of today."

"Thanks." Rachel said, staring down that the green stuffed toy.

Shelby started the car and the adults in the front seat were oblivious to the crying in the backseat. It was late when the trio got home and Shelby opened the garage door. Rachel was the first one out of the car, making sure to stay ahead of Shelby and Vivi. She kicked off her shoes at the door that lead into kitchen and she hurried to the stairs.

"Rachel." Shelby stopped the girl before she could start up the stairs. Rachel stopped but didn't turn to look at Shelby. "It's late so I'd like you to get ready for bed and I'll be up shortly to say goodnight."

"Okay." Rachel whispered.

Vivi and Shelby talked for a few minutes before Vivi needed to go to bed. She was leaving the next day and wanted to be well rested for the drive. Shelby went around the house and made sure the windows and doors were locked and that the lights were shut off. Rachel's bedroom light was still on and Shelby went into her room to change into her own pajamas before going to see Rachel.

Rachel was lying on her bed when Shelby walked into the room and sat on the edge of the mattress but more towards the headboard as that's where Rachel's feet were. She reached for one of the small feet and began to gently massage it. Rachel shimmied closer to the foot of the bed, letting Shelby get more comfortable. The two sat in silence as Rachel used the turtle as a pillow.

"I had fun with you today." Shelby said, switching to Rachel's other foot. Rachel pulled away from Shelby and curled up on her side. "Baby?"

"Will we ever do something like that again?" Rachel quietly asked, her voice breaking.

"Of course we will." Shelby sat up and moved closer to Rachel. "What's going on, Rach? Talk to me."

"It's stupid." Rachel said and let out a rather loud sigh. "Y-you still mean what you said? About wanting to keep me?"

"Rachel, nothing has changed." Shelby said. She laid next to Rachel and placed her arm around Rachel's middle, pulling her close. "And it never will."

"Why did Finn have to tell everyone everything, Mama?" Rachel cried out, flipping around so she could tuck herself into Shelby's front.

"What did Finn say?" Shelby asked, rubbing Rachel's back.

"I told him that I was worried about you leaving me like my dads did. He told Santana and she was teasing me about it at the fair."

Shelby shook her head and held Rachel closer as the girl sniffled several times. "I don't know why Finn would do something like that but I don't want you to be hanging out with him anymore. Tomorrow you need to text him and break things off with him. And if he tries to talk to you at school, reply that you've already said all that you need to in the text messages. Walk away and ignore him after that. Okay?"

"Yes ma'am." Rachel sniffled and then yawned.

"I think it's time for bed, little miss." Shelby said, kissing Rachel's forehead. They could finish talking in the morning. "Tomorrow after Nana leaves, we're gonna go get you a new phone."

"Can we have lunch while we are out too?"

"Sure." Shelby nodded. She would normally decline Rachel's inquiry but thought it wouldn't be a bad idea, especially since Rachel was kinda upset. "Wherever you want."

"Thanks." Rachel smiled. Shelby moved just slightly to get up but Rachel flinched, tightening her grip on Shelby. "Stay with me?" Rachel looked up at Shelby with her wide innocent eyes. "Please? Just for tonight?"

"We'll sleep in my room." Shelby settled. Her bed was much bigger than Rachel's and judging by the way Rachel's bedding was usually all over the floor by morning, Shelby wasn't going to get much room if they slept in Rachel's bed.

Shelby got up, grabbing Rachel's pillow and helped the girl up to her feet. Shelby turned of Rachel's bedroom light as they walked into the bedroom across the hall. Rachel let Shelby pull back the blankets and got in once Shelby motioned for her to do so. Shelby smiled as Rachel got comfortable, cuddling her turtle; the little fella was growing on Rachel very quickly. Shelby turned off the lights and climbed into bed, letting the full moon be her nightlight. Rachel's hand snaked out from under the comforter and her tiny fingers laced themselves into Shelby's long ones. Shelby brought the small hand to her mouth, kissing the back of Rachel's hand.

"Good night, Love." Shelby kissed Rachel's temple. "I love you."

"I love you too, mom." Rachel yawned again, wiggling closer to Shelby with her turtle getting squished in the process.

* * *

**A/N: Here is a small hint for the next chapter...Red Solo Cup...and it's NOT what you think. :) ...You know what I'm talkin about, dontcha Rachie?**


	5. Chapter 5

"Rachel!" Shelby called from the kitchen.

She had been calling out for Rachel off and on for the past five minutes. It was getting to the point where she was going to have to physically go get Rachel herself.

Giving the girl one last chance, Shelby began to call Rachel's name once again. "Ra-"

"-Did you need me, mom?" Rachel asked, coming up from the studio.

"Yes." Shelby said, raising one of her brows ever so slightly. "I was thinking now would be a good time for you to finish your project."

"But it's not due until Tuesday."

"I know but I think it's a good idea for you to knock it out today because you don't know how much homework you are getting when you return to school tomorrow."

"I'll do whatever homework I do get, during school and do my project tomorrow."

"I'd feel better if you would do it today. There's nothing else going on and you can't judge how much homework you are going to get tomorrow."

"And I'd rather not." Rachel crossed her arms. She'd much rather return downstairs and continue sorting through her mother's collection of sheet music.

"What if I helped you? We'll get it done in no time." Shelby suggested. She was more than aware that Rachel wanted to go back downstairs and she was looking out for Rachel so the girl would avoid being stressed out the next night.

"No thanks." Rachel said and turned around to go back down to the studio but Shelby pulled her away and closed the door to the stairs. "Mom!"

"You need to go get your project and sit down at the table and get it done."

"I don't-"

"And I don't want to hear a single complaint." Shelby stopped Rachel.

"Fine!" Rachel stomped her foot. Shelby let her little diva storm past her.

It had been three hours since Rachel and Shelby had eaten with Vivi before she left and Shelby thought Rachel could use a small snack. She carefully listened to fuss about having to do her homework. She'd let her complain but if the girl cursed or said something she shouldn't, Shelby was going to put an end to it. Rachel returned to the kitchen with her project board, markers, glue stick, and an xacto knife. In a huff and to show her mother her dissatisfaction, Rachel dropped everything on the table.

Shelby's jaw set into a thin line but again she didn't say anything as she place the paper towel on the table, followed by sliced apples and a spoonful of peanut butter and glass of soy milk on the side to wash it all down with. Rachel didn't even acknowledge that her mother had fixed her a snack.

"You're welcome." Shelby loudly said as she went down to the laundry room that was hidden away just off the studio.

"Thank you." Rachel muttered, sitting down. Tilting her head just slightly, Rachel picked up the paper towel and glass of milk, carrying them into the livingroom.

Shelby heard the sounds of the television as she came up the stairs with a basket of Rachel's clothes on her hip. When she reached the top of the stairs, she wasn't the least bit surprised that Rachel wasn't in the kitchen. She set the basket on one of the chairs, going to the livingroom to remind Rachel of two things. One, food was not allowed in the pristine white room. And two, she wasn't suppose to be watching TV but doing her homework. When she entered the room, she added a third broken rule to her list; no feet on the table.

"Turn it off." Shelby said, tapping Rachel's legs as she sat down.

Rachel sighed, putting both feet on the floor. She reached for the remote and turned off the TV, dropping the remote on the glass top table. Shelby cringed at the beating her precious table had taken. She had spent three months looking for the perfect table and not to mention, a hefty amount of money.

"Happy now?"

"Not until you lose the attitude. Now." Shelby stated. "And after that, you need to take your bottom into that kitchen. I have made it quite clear that you are not to be eating in here."

"Fine." Rachel said. Shelby was growing very tired of hearing that word.

Rachel got up and went into the kitchen, ditching her snack in the trash and placing her milk on the table.

Shelby placed her hands on her hips. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes." She replied, sitting at the table on her knees to begin to work.

"Well I happen to disagree." Shelby said, moving to the warm laundry and she started to fold the clothes. "You told me Friday that you were halfway done, so you can't have much left to do, unless you were lying to me to increase your chances of being able to do out on your date."

"I did not lie." Rachel disputed.

"I hope not." Shelby replied. "I know you like school Rachel and are very meticulous about your homework. You don't need me to hover and nag you about doing it."

"Then why are you?" Rachel asked, her tone was not rude but it wasn't kind either.

"Because this week you're going to be busy with glee and working at the humane society. You don't know how much homework your teachers are going to be assigning and I don't want you to be overwhelmed and stressed. It'd just like you to have this project done before tomorrow, so I don't have to worry about you falling behind."

"I'm not going too." Rachel said, sullenly. "Why can't you trust me?"

"Rach, this has nothing to do with trust." Shelby said, snapping the few wrinkles out of one of Rachel's skirts. "I'm only looking out for you."

"I can manage my own time and homework." Rachel whined. Why can't her mom accept this? "I've been doing it on my own for years."

"I'm done talking about this, Rachel. I am the parent here and you are the child."

"You also said you wouldn't parent me." Rachel sassed, refusing to let down and acknowledge that Shelby just might be more stubborn than she.

"I said I wouldn't be as tough as I should until you become more comfortable with me. Seeing as you've taken it upon yourself to give me an attitude, and this is not the first time, I think it's safe to say you are more comfortable with me. " Shelby said. "Now, enough. You are doing your project and I expect it to be done before you go to bed."

Shelby went upstairs, leaving Rachel to work on her project while she collected more dirty laundry to wash. Rachel growled and slammed her fist on the table. She didn't want to do this right now but most of all she didn't need Shelby telling her too.

Rachel sat at the table, arms folded and a displeased look on her face, refusing to do any work because after all it could wait another day.

After hearing a pounding noise, Shelby moved to the stairs to listen to what Rachel was doing"Rachel, you better have made progress by the time I come down there. You hear me?" Shelby said, not hearing any movement following the pound.

Rachel rolled her eyes and bobbed her head, all while silently mocking Shelby, who retreated down the stairs when Rachel didn't answer her. She caught the girl mocking her and cleared her throat. Rachel jumped and her eyes widened.

"M-mom."

Shelby bent down at the waist, becoming eye level with her child and narrowed her stare just slightly enough to let Rachel know she was serious.

"You are walking a very, very thin line right now, Rachel." Shelby said. "Get your project done or you will be grounded from the studio for the rest of the school year."

"That's six weeks!"

"Then get it done."

"Yes ma'am." Rachel said with a sharp tone that didn't go unnoticed by Shelby.

"I am going to start some wash and when I get back, I mean it, there better progress."

Shelby straightened up and returned upstairs to get the laundry and took it down to the basement. She stood in front of the washer, tossing in half of the basket and added some detergent. As she was preparing the dryer, Rachel started screaming for Shelby. The mom quickly slammed the dryer door shut and ran up the stairs.

Rachel was sitting on her chair with her hand cradling her left cheek. Tears were spilling down Rachel's face and she was moments away from breaking out into full blown sobs. Shelby knelt down and pulled Rachel's hand from her face.

"What's the matter honey?" Shelby asked.

"My tooth. It hurts." Rachel said, trying hard to not let her bottom and top rows of teeth touch. She had been very careful when she was eating the peeled apple slices but the cold milk caused her tooth to start hurting.

"Open up." Shelby said, placing her thumb on Rachel's lower lip to get the girl to open her mouth. Rachel was hesitant about opening her mouth and Shelby began to wonder if the girl was using a sore tooth as a way to get out of her having to do her project. "Come on, Babe."

"Okay." Rachel obliged and slowly opened her mouth.

Shelby tilted Rachel's head back to get a better view and realized Rachel might not be faking. Rachel's mouth was becoming a disaster. Shelby counted at least two cavities that have gone untreated for quite some time. What really concerned Shelby was the four broken teeth in the back of Rachel's mouth. One was severely broken to the point Shelby could see that the gums had formed an abscess that covered the majority of the tooth.

"When's the last time you've been to a dentist?" Shelby asked, letting Rachel close her mouth.

"I don't know." Rachel shrugged, thinking. "I was maybe seven?"

"Damn it." Shelby whispered.

"I'm sorry." Rachel bowed her head.

"Don't be sorry." Shelby gently said, noticing Rachel's cheek was getting puffy and swollen. "How long has it been like this?"

"Two or three months off and on." Rachel shrugged. "It'll stop hurting eventually."

Shelby stood up and got some pain relief pills from the basket in the cabinet. She poured Rachel some water and handed her the pills. Rachel took the medicine, inhaling sharply at the pain from the cold water hitting her tooth.

"I can't make you an appointment until tomorrow, seeing as its Sunday."

"I'll be okay, you don't need too."

"Rach, you can't walk around with a bad tooth. Besides, you'll need to have the dentist check your other teeth too and take care of those cavities."

"I don't wanna." Rachel whined and for a moment Shelby thought a four year old was before her and not a fifteen year old.

"Tough." Shelby said, sitting down across from Rachel. "What do we have to do for this project?"

"I can do it myself."

"I know you can, sweetheart." Shelby said, looking over the pictures and pieces of text that Rachel needed to glue to her poster.

Rachel slid the sheet of paper with the instructions towards Shelby and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her cheek, sniffling every few seconds. The project seemed easy enough and wouldn't take much time to finish in Shelby's eyes.

"Can't I lay down for awhile? Please?" Rachel pleaded. Her mouth was killing her.

"Alright, go on and we'll work on it before dinner." Shelby nodded.

"Will you sit with me?" Rachel softly asked, embarrassed.

"Sure." Shelby smiled and sent Rachel up ahead of her to change into something more comfortable to nap in.

It took Shelby nearly a half hour to get Rachel to sleep. Between tears and whimpers from her tooth hurting and a few lullabies sing by Shelby, Rachel finally grew tired and fell asleep with half her body covering Shelby's and her head resting on her mother's chest.

Shelby kissed Rachel's head and rolled the two of them so Rachel was on the bed with Shelby on top. She carefully got up and sighed with relief that Rachel had stayed asleep.

She stood in the kitchen, pouring herself a cup of hot tea, then moved to the table where she looked over the homework on the table. Rachel had most everything printed out and it just needed to be glued to the poster board. The only thing after that would need to be done was the short presentation report Rachel needed to write.

Pursing her lips, Shelby sat down and began to glue down the strips of paper and pictures. She's do this part for Rachel but the girl would need to come up with the report herself. Only a half an hour of her time was taken up in doing the project and she figured the presentation report would take another thirty minutes to an hour. Why was Rachel being such a pain about this?

Shelby carried the poster into the livingroom and placed it on the coffee table for the glue to dry. Returning to the kitchen, Shelby poured herself a new cup of tea and went up to Rachel's room.

As soon as she sat down, Rachel rolled over and draped an arm around Shelby's waist and buried her face into her hip. She smiled down at her daughter, using one hand to stroke Rachel's hair.

Rachel woke up two hours after falling asleep and found her mother was still sitting beside her and was fast asleep, only she realized Shelby had gotten up at some point because she was holding a mug of tea that was now cold. She took the mug from her mom as she sat up and drank most of the liquid. Rachel leaned over Shelby, placing the mug on the nightstand beside her mother. Like she had laid on Shelby earlier, Rachel laid her head on Shelby's chest. Her upper body covered Shelby's but her legs were spread out on the mattress. Using her hand, Rachel searched the bed for her turtle and held it close when she found it.

Shelby felt the pressure of Rachel's body on top of her and she poked open an eye, closing it when she heard Rachel yawning. Neither one was ready to get up from the nap.

Forty-five minutes later, Shelby woke up and stretched as much as she could with Rachel still on top of her. Rachel started to stir and she lifted her head, wiping the strand of drool from her mouth. Shelby felt the wet spot on her tee shirt where Rachel's drool had gathered.

"Sleep well?" Shelby chuckled, brushing some hair out of Rachel's face.

"Very." Rachel nodded, blushing at the drool spot. She sat up and stretched too, grateful for the nearly three hour nap. "My tooth doesn't hurt anymore."

"That's good but you're still going to the dentist." Shelby said, getting off the bed.

"No, mom. It doesn't hurt." Rachel cried out. She hated the dentist just as much as she hated the doctor's office.

"You're going." Shelby sternly said, walking out of the room.

"But mama." Rachel followed Shelby down to the kitchen. "I don't want to go."

"Rachel, it's a procedure and after a day or so, you'll feel better."

"Mom." Rachel said, trying to ask Shelby something.

Shelby was tried of battling Rachel about this. The girl needed to go to the dentist and nothing she had to say was going to keep Shelby from changing her mind about making the appointment.

"Enough Rachel. You are going." Shelby stated and started to gather things for dinner. "Since you're feeling better, you need to sit down and write out the presentation report. The rest of your project is drying in the livingroom."

"You did my homework?"

"I helped you." Shelby corrected. "I only glued the poster together, you did the work."

"Thanks." Rachel softly replied and returned back upstairs.

"Don't expect m-" Shelby started and turned to look at Rachel. She stopped talking, seeing that Rachel was no longer in the room. She gave Rachel specific instructions to sit down and do her project. "Oh good gravy."

Shelby shut the refrigerator door and marched right up the stairs. Rachel was laying on her bed, working on her homework. Shelby softened her face and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Why are you up here?"

"You told me to do my homework."

"I thought you'd do it downstairs while I made us something to eat."

"I'd rather do it up here. Alone." She replied not looking up at Shelby.

"Is everything okay?" Shelby asked. She couldn't see the tears that were slipping down Rachel's cheeks but she could hear the difference in the girl's voice.

"Fine." Shelby rolled her eyes at the stupid word. "I need to finish this."

"Alright, I'll leave you to it." Shelby stood up but didn't move from there. "I know you aren't very happy with having to go to the dentist, but-"

"-I'll just have to deal with it." Rachel said to end the conversation. "It's okay, I've heard that before."

Confusion flash across Shelby's face as she heard a slight sob in Rachel's speech.

"Are you scared about going?" Shelby asked. Going to the dentist at seven is most likely a scary event for most children and since its been so long for Rachel, Shelby figured that she was just overly nervous about getting major dental work done for the first time.

"It's nothing, forget it." Rachel replied, fidgeting with her pen.

"I can't forget it." Shelby said, sitting on Rachel's bed.

"Why not?" Rachel sighed.

"Because I'm your mom. I am taking you to the dentist as soon as I can get you in but if there's something your worried about, I want to be given the chance to make the appointment go by as smoothly as possible." Shelby explained. "So, will you tell me what's got you all worried?"

"I don't know." Rachel bit her lip.

"Please?" Shelby whined, mocking Rachel by exaggerating the word. She laid next to Rachel and pulled the girl close, hugging her as tight as she could. "Please tell me."

"What-mom, what are you doing?" Rachel asked, her face squished into her mom's neck.

"I just wanna know what's going on with my little girl." Shelby said. She began to tickle Rachel's side, making the girl laugh. She kept up her overly dramatic voice. "Please don't keep me in the dark much longer. I can't take it anymore. Don't you love me?"

"Okay! Okay!" Rachel breathed out. Her tooth was becoming sore again from the laughter but wasn't hurting badly. The two laid on the bed, still tangled together with Rachel's head laying on her mom's belly.

"So talk to me." Shelby softly said, running her fingers through Rachel's hair.

"I have a fear of doctor and dentist offices." Rachel said as she began to regain her normal breathing. Shelby tickling her removed some of the tense air out of the room, Shelby's intention had worked. Rachel's fingers picked at the threading of Shelby's top. "When I was at the dentist last, they had to knock me out just to do a simple exam. And the doctor's isn't any different. My doctor has prescribed me anti-anxiety medicine to take the days before my appointments."

"Your medicine is at your dads?"

"I'm out. I've been out for two years and my dads never got it refilled." Rachel said, feeling better about talking to her mom. "I had to go to the doctor last year for my throat but when I asked my dads to order my medicine, they told me I needed to grow up and do without so ended up not going."

"Awe, honey." Shelby said, clicking her tongue. "I'm sorry your dads did that."

"It's okay, I guess. They're right anyway, I need to get over my fear and grow up."

"It's not okay." Shelby sat up, pushing Rachel to a siting position as well. "I will call your doctor and have him set you up with a new prescription so we can get the medicine before your dentist appointment."

"You don't have too. I'll be fine."

"I'm getting you the medicine before hand." Shelby said, letting Rachel know she wasn't going to let Rachel go to the appointment a nervous wreck.

"Thank you." Rachel said, scooting up to hug Shelby.

"How how about you get your work done and then I'll take you to pick out a new phone?" Shelby said.

"Really?" Rachel grinned. "I can get whatever phone I want?"

"Within reason, yes." Shelby nodded.

"I'll be done in ten minutes." Rachel said, feverishly writing out her presentation.

"Slow down and do it right. I'll be checking it before we go."

"Yes mom." Rachel said not looking up from her paper.

Two hours later, Shelby and Rachel returned to the house. Along with her new phone, Shelby had bought her two phone cases and an extra charger to keep at school. Rachel sat down at the kitchen table, waiting as Shelby sorted out the dinner they had stopped to get on the way home. She was in the middle of playing a game when Shelby took the device from her hands.

"It's time to eat."

"But mom." Rachel whined.

"Don't make me take the phone away already." Shelby sighed. "but don't forget, after we eat you need to send Finn that text and then bring me your old phone."

"Why do I have to give it to you?" Rachel asked.

"I've already told you. You don't need two phones and I don't want you to have two phones as I cannot see what you are doing on the one your dads gave you. Second, your dads will be finding out about the custody and parental rights reinstatement papers soon and I don't want them calling you and trying to get information from you. This is between your fathers and I."

Rachel only nodded and started to eat her dinner. When she finished, Shelby let her go to her room to text Finn. But no matter how she worded the message, Rachel couldn't break up with Finn. She had been in love with Finn for years and even though he once told her he would rather be with Quinn, Rachel believed something had changed within Finn that made him see just what a bitch Quinn was. He may have gone against her wishes to keep Shelby being her mom a secret but maybe he had a good reason too or maybe he accidentally let it slip. She didn't want to break up with him like Shelby was making her. She'd talk to him in the morning face to face before she made her decision.

"Remember, stay away from Finn, Quinn, and Santana and them. Don't let them talk you into going anywhere with them or doing anything with them." Shelby reminded Rachel the following morning.

"I know mom." Rachel said, hating that she was lying to her mom about sending the break up message. She opened up her door and got out, leaning across the seats to give her mom a kiss goodbye. "I'll see you later."

"Are you sure you still want to go to the Humane Society after school? We can schedule you to go next week instead. I don't want you to work if your tooth is hurting."

"It's okay. You gave me some Tylenol to take if it hurts again."

"And if it gets too painful, call me and I will come get you. Or if you don't feel up to doing your volunteer work, go straight home.

"Okay." Rachel whined, annoyed with Shelby. She just wanted to go and talk to Finn already.

"Okay, okay." Shelby shook her head. "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too." Rachel gave a small smile as she closed the door.

Once inside the school, Rachel stopped at her locker to ditch her heavy backpack, only taking with her the things she'd need for her first two classes. Finn usually hung out in the gym playing basketball with his jock friends before school started and Rachel headed towards the gym. As she came around the corner, she saw Finn standing close to Quinn. Her arms were around his waist and he was slouched over, kissing her cheek. Neither saw Rachel standing just a few short feet away.

"Come on it's only for a few more weeks, just until after Regionals." Quinn said. "Then you can dump that little freak and we can go back to being a couple."

"I don't know." Finn said. "I don't want to hurt Rachel."

"If we lose Rachel, we lose regionals and there will be no more glee club. Is that what you want?"

"No, I like glee."

"Then just pretend to be interested in Berry for awhile longer. If you say yes, I'll let you touch my chest."

"Under the shirt?"

"Over the bra." Quinn narrowed her eyes.

"Alright, I suppose I can date her for a few weeks and then break up with her." Finn gave in.

Rachel backed out of the hallway and bit her lip to keep from crying. She calmly walked to her locker and placed her things inside. With her phone tucked in her pocket, she walked out of the school. She didn't want to go back to Shelby's and have to face her mom. She didn't want to talk about this with anyone right now. She still had the key to her dads' house and began the ten minute walk.

A few hours after arriving at her dads' house, Rachel pulled out her phone to text Shelby to find out if she was in the clear to go to her mom's.

_-Hi, mama._

_-Hi baby. How's your tooth?_

_-Fine. It hasn't bothered me yet. I have a question._

_-Shoot._

_-Would it be okay if I stopped at my dads' house after school to get more clothes and things? I can drop my things off at your house before I go to the shelter._

_-Or you could pack somethings after school and we can pick it up in the morning before school. Whatever you want to do._

_-Thanks. I have to go though, passing period is almost over._

_-Alright, I have to get going before I am late to work too. I love you sweetie, have a good day and text me when you get to the shelter._

_-I will. Love you too._

Rachel spent an hour and a half packing up a box of her things, making sure she didn't make it too heavy as she had another fifteen minute walk to her mom's house. She made sure to message her mom through out the day to keep tabs on what the woman was doing. She knew Shelby would be pissed if she found out she had skipped school. By the time Rachel needed to leave for the shelter, she was suppose to be out of glee and Shelby called her to make sure she remembered how to get to the shelter and that she need to speak to Pam when she got there. Shelby didn't suspect a thing and Rachel grinned at herself for successfully skipping school for the first time with Shelby.

"All you have to do is use this hose and fill each bowl up. Then do the same with the bag of dog food. When you finish with that, Madelyn will need your help in walking the dogs." Pam instructed and left Rachel to start her first set of chores.

Rachel did exactly as she was told and paid close attention to not get her flats wet. They were her favorite, no way did she want them ruined. She didn't really pay attention to the dogs as she watered them but as she was scooping the food from the bag and into the bowls, Rachel took her time and petted each one. She had never been much of a pet person but she was falling in love more and more with each dog. She didn't know which dog she loved more until her eyes fell on Goo-Goo. He was a chocolate retriever with a coat the same color as Rachel's hair and dark eyes to match even more.

She reached her small hand through the bars of the cage and stroked the large dog's back, taking a few seconds to scratch his ears before petting his back again. As Goo-Goo began to eat, Rachel stood up and read the small biography of Goo-Goo that was secured to the cage. Goo had the same history as Rachel.

He was neglected too. Rachel felt her heart tighten and tears filled her eyes. Who would do that to a poor defenseless animal? All he wanted as love and a good home. It's exactly what Rachel wanted too. She was getting all the love she could imagine with Shelby and wanted the same for Goo-Goo. Kneeling down, Rachel began to pet him again.

"What do you think?" Rachel quietly asked. "Would you like to come home with me? My mom wants a big house, a garden, a dog and a family. She's got two out of four. She'll love you as much as I do and she won't neglect you."

Goo-Goo stuck his nose between the bars and licked Rachel's face. The girl was grossed out at first but relaxed and let him do it a few more times.

"I love you too." She chuckled. "But I hate your name."

Staring at the dog, her lips turned into a wide grin.

"I think I'll call you Solo." Rachel settled. "You can be my Solo pup."

Now Shelby just needed to say yes.


	6. Chapter 6

Shelby sent Rachel a text, telling the teen that she was almost to Lima and would be arriving to the animal shelter to pick her up in twenty minutes. And Rachel decided to send those twenty minutes playing with her Solo pup. She needed Solo to get use to her so Shelby would be more willing to say yes. With Pam's permission, Rachel took Solo to the fenced in doggie playground in the back of the shelter. The two played fetch for several minutes until Solo began to get tired. Rachel grabbed her water bottle, pouring the water into her cupped hand so Solo could cool down. Rachel found a clean spot on the grass and laid down with Solo standing at her side, he eventually laid down beside her and rested his head on Rachel's belly.

"You're such a good dog, Solo. My mom will definitely love you." Rachel smiled.

Shelby pulled up in front of the shelter and got out of the car. Her and Rachel had agreed to meet out front but Shelby figured Rachel was still doing some work. Pam greeted her long time friend with a warm smile. They exchanged pleasantries and then Shelby asked Pam how the day went with Rachel.

"How did she do?"

"Lovely! All the animals have taken to her. Although I am sure that has to do with the several handfuls of missing dog treats." Pam laughed as she pointed to the once full bowl of dog snacks.

"That's Rachel." Shelby laughed as well. She knew Rachel had probably used the treats to bribe the dogs to like her. Rachel wanted everyone to like her. "Where is she now?"

"She took one of the dogs out to the play area. Just go through that door and its around the corner."

"Thanks." Shelby said and walked out the back door, shielding her eyes from the bright sun. She quickly scanned the backyard and found her daughter and a rather large dog. Rachel was laying on the ground with the dog's two front paws on Rachel's belly. It looked as though Rachel was struggling beneath the dog, blocking her face and Shelby panicked. "Rachel!"

Rachel hear her mom screaming her name and sat up to see Shelby running over to the gate, pushing it open. She knelt next to Rachel and started looking over her kid, making sure there were no serious injuries.

"Mom what are you doing?"

"Did she bite you? What about scratches? Rachel are you okay?" Shelby exclaimed.

"Yes, mom. I'm fine." Rachel said. "And it's a he. Solo is a he."

"Solo?" Shelby raised her brow.

Oh here it comes.

"Yeah, I named him Solo. It was goo-goo but that's a stupid name for a do, don't you think?"

"It's not one I'd choose, no." Shelby helped Rachel to her feet and dusted the grass from Rachel's clothes.

"He's a good dog too! He plays catch and knows how to roll over."

"That's wonderful. Now put him on his leash so we can go." Shelby said and she knew it was only a matter of seconds before Rachel would ask.

"You know, I've always wanted a dog."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I know they can be a lot of work but I am very responsible. Don't you agree?"

"I agree they are a lot of work."

"That's not what you were suppose to agree too." Rachel placed a hand on her hip as she held on to Solo's leash as they walked to his kennel.

"And you are responsible too." Shelby chuckled.

"And we have a big house with lots of room."

"That we do."

"So then Solo can come home with us?"

"No." Shelby shook her head.

"But mom." Rachel whined.

"No." Shelby firmly said.

"But you said your dream was to have a house, a garden, a family, and a dog. Solo is a perfect dog."

"Rach, when I said I wanted a dog, I meant a small little thing not a mini pony." Shelby said glancing down at the dog. Shelby didn't care for large dogs at all.

"Read his story." Rachel said, pointing to the piece of paper on the gate. "He's just like me mom. He was neglected and abandoned, he needs to know that not everyone in the world is cruel like his owners were. For years I didn't think my mom cared about me, I thought your were just like my dads but when I met you, I started to believe that there was a place for me in this world and that I can love and be loved. You changed my life in one moment, why can't we do the same for him?"

"Rachel, I know you're attached to this dog but now's not a good time for us to have a dog. We're both gone early in the morning and we're both coming home late and with regionals we'll be coming home much later at times. Its too long for the dog to be home alone. After school ends for the summer and I quit my job, I promise we will come back and pick out a dog we both like."

"That's what this is about. It's not because of regionals or coming home late, you don't like him."

"It's not particularly my favorite sized dog but even if it was, right now my answer would still be no."

"This isn't fair! You're not even giving him a chance." Rachel shouted.

"Lower your voice." Shelby warned.

"No!" Rachel yelled, daring to raise her voice just slightly. "You cannot just toss Solo aside just because he isn't what you wanted. He deserves a good home, our good home."

"Rachel-"

"No." She said, backing away. "You're just as mean as everyone else."

Rachel threw the dog leash on the ground, the metal piece hit Shelby in her black pump covered foot. Shelby didn't know how to react to Rachel's tantrum. She understood Rachel had an emotional connection to the dog now named Solo but it wasn't the right time for them to get a dog. They were hardly home for a few hours before it was time for bed. Solo was going to need more play time and attention, he wasn't going to get that just yet.

Rachel had run out of the shelter in tears and was waiting by the car when Shelby walked out after talking to Pam. She walked over to Rachel and tried to wrap her arms around the upset girl but Rachel wasn't having it and pulled away from Shelby. It hurt Shelby that Rachel did that but she also understood Rachel was unhappy with not getting her way. Shelby unlocked the doors and Rachel got in, slamming her door hard enough to make the entire car rock. Shelby took a deep breath and got inside, closing her door much nicer that Rachel had.

"Rachel, I understand you're anger with me right now but once you calm down, you will see why I am making you wait to get a dog."

"But Solo won't be here when it's time." Rachel whined, crossing her arms. Her mom was being so stupid right now.

"Then you're going to have to pick out another one." Shelby stated. "I'm sorry Rachel and you can think of me as being mean but I am not changing my mind."

"I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"Fine." Shelby answered. "Then as soon as we are done eating dinner, you may shower and then go straight to bed. Perhaps you could use a few extra hours of sleep."

"I don't wanna go to be early."

"You need to change your attitude then. I let you slide by yesterday because I know you weren't feeling well with your tooth but I am not going to put up with the attitude for a second day. Either you change your attitude or I will. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am." Rachel grumbled, her arms were still folded against her chest and she didn't say another word to Shelby the rest of the way home.

Shelby sent Rachel upstairs to change out of her clothes and into some clean pajamas and to wash her hands, while Shelby figured out something to make for dinner. As she walked into her room, she locked the door, knowing it would make Shelby mad and laid on her bed. Taking out her phone, Rachel noticed Finn had sent her a text during her argument with Shelby. She thought about ignoring the message but she couldn't find it in her to tell her thumb to delete the message. Not because she still liked Finn but because she was curious about what the message said. She opened it up and began to read.

_-hey babe, where were you today? I missed you. I was gonna ask you out on a date today. Friday at Breadstix?_

Rachel threw her phone at the pile or pillows that were by the headboard and she flipped around to bury her head into the comforter, tears streamed down her face. She should have known it was too good to be true. Finn was only dating her to find out information to use against her. She wished she had never fallen for Finn Hudson again. She should have known something was up when he asked her out so shortly after him breaking up with Quinn. This was more humiliating than being slushied. No way could she go back to school.

Shelby sat at the kitchen table, staring at the seat in front of her. She had called Rachel down for dinner three times already but Rachel still had yet to make her appearance. The food was getting cold and Shelby was starving. Today she was in charge of lunch detention and a fight broke out between two of the students, which left her spending the entire lunch hour filling out a report for the school board and didn't get to eat a thing besides a small bag of chips during the break during VA practice. She got up and went up to the second floor to see what was keeping Rachel. On Rachel's door, she knocked twice and then tried to turn the door knob. Except she couldn't go in as the door was still locked.

"Rachel?" Shelby knocked again. She wasn't upset that the door was locked, even though it was a rule to not lock her out, as Shelby had instructed Rachel to change into some pajamas when they got home and seeing as the girl hadn't left her room since, Shelby figured Rachel had forgotten to unlock it. It was surly a simple mistake. After a total of five extra knocks on top of the initial two, Shelby was becoming annoyed that Rachel wasn't answering her or wasn't making a move to unlock the door. "Rachel! Open the door."

Nothing.

Shelby started panicking, wondering why her daughter wasn't responding to her. Her first big worry was that Rachel had been mad enough to climb out of her window and run off. If that was the case, Shelby was going to kill her child after she made sure the girl was okay. Her eyes widened when she pictured Rachel falling out of the large oak tree and she nearly jumped down the flight of stairs, going out the front door.

"Thank God." Shelby breathed out a sigh of relief. Rachel was not outside and it didn't look as if Rachel had climbed out of her window.

Good, Rachel was still in the house, now there was just the matter of getting into her room. On top of the fridge sat a small teacup and Shelby collected it, grabbing the keyring from the inside. As she walked upstairs, she found the key she was looking for and with in ten seconds of arriving back at Rachel's door, Shelby had it unlocked. Armed and ready to lecture her daughter with a week long grounding, Shelby barged into the room but stopped short of yelling.

Rachel was laying on the bed, facing the door and was fast asleep with her headphones on with the music up quite loud. Shelby set the keys on the desk that was next to the door and knelt down beside Rachel and took the earbuds from Rachel's ear, concerned with the volume of the music. The dried tears on Rachel's cheeks were noticeable and judging by the large wet spot on Rachel's pillow, Shelby knew Rachel had been very upset. Turning off the iPod, Shelby placed it on the nightstand and went into the adjoining bathroom, wetting a washcloth to wipe Rachel's face. She got Rachel's face free of the tear streaks and then covered her up with the throw blanket that was at the foot of the bed.

Shelby collected the keyring and left Rachel's door open as she left Rachel to sleep some more, though not too long as she didn't want Rachel up half the night. She wrapped up Rachel's dinner and placed it in the fridge for her to warm up when Rachel was ready to eat. And when she finished eating her own food, Shelby cleaned up the rest of the kitchen and settled in to do some of her work. An hour later, Rachel, bed head and all, came down the stairs and stood behind Shelby, laying her forehead on Shelby's shoulder. Shelby jumped slightly from being startled but smiled and placed her hand on Rachel's head.

"I'm hungry." Rachel mumbled.

"I have your dinner in the fridge." Shelby said moving Rachel so she was sitting on her lap. "Are you okay? When I went to get you for dinner, I saw you had been crying. I know you really want to bring Solo home Rachel and I feel awful for not being in the position for us to have him here but I promise we'll get a dog in a few weeks."

"It's not Solo." Rachel said, with her head laying on Shelby's other shoulder as she played with the bracelet on Shelby's wrist.

"What is it?"

"Just some other things but I don't really wanna talk about it." Rachel said. She got off Shelby's lap and went to the fridge to get her plate of food.

She set the plate on the counter to unwrap the plastic wrap from the plate but a pair of hands reached over her and took the plate. Shelby had Rachel sit down and she popped the plate into the microwave. A glass of grape juice was placed in front of Rachel and Shelby sat down while she waited for the microwave to turn off.

"How's your tooth?"

"Sore." Rachel said, sipping her juice. "But it's not bothering me. Yet."

"Your prescription will be ready tomorrow afternoon and your appointment is the following day on Wednesday. I'll be picking you up from school at eleven so there's plenty of time before your appointment." Shelby said as she wanted for them to be able to take their time going to her appointment so Rachel wouldn't feel rushed from school to the dentist and get anxious. She'd be able to take her anxiety medication and have a relaxing half hour before her appointment.

"Kay." Rachel said.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about what's bothering you?" Shelby asked again, fetching Rachel's dinner from the microwave and placing it in front of Rachel with a fork. "I know you haven't had anyone to talk to about things in the past but I'm a really good listener and I can help fix whatever has you upset."

"Moms can't fix everything." Rachel replied.

"No but it's our job to try." Rachel looked like she was trying to decide whether or not to talk to Shelby about her Finn problem and Shelby let her take her time without pushing her. In the end Rachel shook her head, saying she didn't want to talk. "Alright, if you change your mind I am here for you."

"Thanks." Rachel smiled.

"There is something I want to talk about, though." Shelby said, placing her crossed arms on the table. "When we were talking at the shelter, you made a comment about Solo not being tossed aside because he wasn't what I wanted and then you told me I was mean just like everyone else."

"What about it?" Rachel asked. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about anything to do with Solo, the dog she so badly wanted but couldn't have.

"Do you feel that way?" Shelby asked. "Like your dads tossed you to the side because you weren't what they wanted? Or like I tossed you aside?"

"I'm not what my dads wanted."

"And I'm here to tell you that you're wrong. Your dads wanted you so badly."

"Then I became what they didn't want." Rachel heavily sighed.

"It's not you, R-"

"Don't say it's not me." Rachel harshly said. "It has to be me. Why else would they stop coming around?"

"I don't know why they changed but it has nothing to do with you. It's them who changed, okay? It's them who decided that you were old enough to be left alone when you weren't. For a few hours yes, but over night and for days? No." Shelby said. "It's not you Rachel and it never was you. I promise that I will never let you feel tossed aside because you are the most important thing in my life."

"You promise?"

"I promise." Shelby firmly nodded.

Rachel's eyes filled with tears and she bowed her head. "No one has ever told me I was the most important thing to them."

"I'm afraid you'll be hearing it a lot." Shelby chuckled, hoping to make Rachel laugh.

"That's fine with me." Rachel softly giggled, looking up at her mom. "Dinner is really good, thank you."

"You're welcome." Shelby replied. "While you finish eating I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" Rachel asked.

"Your door. I went to get you for dinner and found your door was locked, I had to use the set of keys to get in. I was very clear on your first night here that you were not to lock me out and this is the second time. I understand that you may lock it at times while you are changing your clothes and that's fine but aside from that your door needs to remain unlocked. The next time your door is locked when you are doing something other than getting dressed, I am taking knob off your door for two weeks."

"That's not fair." Rachel whined, letting the fork fall from her hand. Shelby cringed at the clattering noise it made as it hit the plate. "I should be able to lock my door whenever I want."

"Fair or not, it's my house and my rule. I am giving you another chance so don't be getting an attitude. Don't think I've forgotten about the way you've been acting the last two days. I have been very lenient with you but I also can't let you get away with everything. Certain things like bedtimes, I am willing to negotiate and talk with you about but locking of doors is one I won't budge on. You may lock your door for a few minutes while you change but that's it."

"Mom, I don't think you're be-"

"-Rachel, anymore argument on this and I will just go upstairs right now and take off the door knob. I am trying to give you another chance but I will change my mind."

"This is so stupid. I can't believe you are being so up tight about my damn door being locked."

"Watch your mouth young lady." Shelby warned.

"This is bull!"

"You're done." Shelby said, grabbing Rachel's half empty plate. "You need to go take a shower and go straight to bed."

"It's not even nine!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Well you should have thought about that sooner." Shelby said, rinsing off the plate. "Go upstairs and leave your bedroom door and your bathroom door unlocked."

"But-"

"-If I need anything, I will knock. I will always knock first." Shelby added in case that was the reason why Rachel was upset about not being able to lock her door. "You deserve privacy but I won't be locked out of any room of my house."

"This is ridiculous." Rachel muttered as she ran up the stairs.

"Don't even think of slamming that door or you will lose the whole damn thing!"

"Watch your mouth young lady." Rachel mocked Shelby as she loudly closed her door.

What Rachel thought was loudly closing her door, was considered slamming in Shelby's book and the woman turned off the water and went right up the stairs, throwing the door open. Luckily she caught the door by the knob before it could fully open or she was pretty sure she would have left a hole in the wall. Rachel was in the bathroom when she heard the door opening and she walked back into her room to confront her mom.

"You said you'd knock first. What the hell happened to that?"

"Consider yourself grounded. Hand over your phone and iPod." Shelby said, holding out her hand. Before Rachel had gone downstairs to eat after her nap, she had put her phone and iPod away so they wouldn't get lost or broken. Shelby had no idea where the girl kept them or else she would have grabbed them herself. "Today Rachel because if I have to tear apart every inch of this room to find them, so be it."

"Here." Rahel said, fetching the devices from her desk drawer and harshly placing them in Shelby's hand. "Happy now?"

"You can have your iPod back a week from today, same as your phone, only I will let you take your phone to school and the shelter as I want to be able to get a hold of you. However, you may only text and call me. I can check your phone usage on the internet so I would be very cautious about trying to be sneaky. It won't work in your favor."

"A week?! Why?"

"You've gotten three days for swearing three times, two days for slamming your door, and two days for telling me to watch my mouth. Which that is completely unacceptable and the second time you have done it. I am serious Rachel, you are getting too big for your britches." Shelby internally groaned. She sounded just like her grandma. Why, oh why, did she have to sound like an eighty-one year old woman? Straightening her spine and squaring her shoulders, Shelby finished her lecture so Rachel could get in the shower. "I suggest you take the time during your shower to really think about why you've been acting this way. If you want to talk about it, great. If not, that's fine too. Either way you need to figure out a way to change your behavior."

"You know." Rachel started, folding her arms. "I was regretting locking my door on you shortly after I did it and I felt bad for locking it. And I felt bad for forgetting to unlock it but now, I see that you deserved it."

"You purposefully locked the door?"

"Yup and I would do it again!" Rachel sassed.

With that Rachel turned to go into the bathroom, where she was planning to lock the door. She smirked just thinking of her mother having to go all the way downstairs to get the keys. However, her smirk and plan disappeared as a strong hand wrapped around her arm. Expecting to be spun around to face her mother, Rachel received another surprise. Three stinging swats to her backside. As the last two came raining down, Rachel rocked on her toes to get away but Shelby held on.

"Ow! Ow!"

Shelby turned Rachel to face her and stooped to be eye level with her daughter.

"You want a few more?" Shelby asked, raising a very serious brow.

Rachel shook her head. "No." She quietly said.

"Then you need to go take your shower and I will be up when you are done to say goodnight."

"Yes ma'am." Rachel said and moved to go to her bathroom but Shelby tugged her away.

"Use my bathroom." Shelby said with a kind voice. Rachel's demeanor had changed so Shelby changed her tone. Rachel gave her a confused look but Shelby only gave her a gentle push towards her bedroom.

The next morning, Rachel pushed the curtain aside and exited her bathroom. It was time to leave and Shelby had called her twice already, telling her they needed to go. Rachel sighed as she walked out of her doorless room. Last night during her shower, Shelby had removed both the bathroom and bedroom door, hanging a curtain along where the bathroom door had been for some sort of privacy. The next three days were going to suck in Rachel's eyes and once again she was regretting locking the door on her mother.

"Do you have your things for school?" Shelby asked, seeing that Rachel was only carrying her project that was due that day. "Where's your backpack?"

"I left it at school."

"Did you have homework?"

"Yeah, I did it during school. I didn't have a lot."

"Alright." Shelby said as they walked to the door. "Let's go."

Rachel said goodbye to her mom and climbed out of the car with her poster in hand. Rachel was only staying at school long enough to turn in her poster and to collect the homework she missed the day before, using the excuse that she stayed home yesterday with a toothache and had a dentist appointment that afternoon. Her teachers all believed her, knowing that while Rachel was out spoken, she was also a very great student who cared about her grades.  
After getting her homework from yesterday and today, Rachel stopped at her locker to get her backpack and turned to leave.

"Loser!" A male voice said but Rachel couldn't see who it was as her eyes and face was covered in grape slushy.

She dropped her backpack and wiped her eyes, doing her best to keep from crying. She grabbed her bag and went into the girl's bathroom to clean up as best as she could for the walk to her dads'. Unfortunately, one of the dresses her grandma bought her just three days earlier was now ruined. The tears finally fell, upset more about the dress than getting slushied. Washing her face and hair, Rachel pulled her damp locks into a ponytail and slipped out of school without any further incident.

Once at her dads' house, Rachel changed into a pair of black yoga pants and a sweatshirt to wear while she waited for her dress to finish being washed. She hoped the stain remover trick she Googled would work on her dress. Out of the three dresses she got with her grandma, it had been the most liked by Shelby. Which made Rachel love the dress even more.

Shelby made sure to leave home twenty minutes earlier than usual so she could stop at the pharmacy to pick up Rachel's medicine. She would have just waited to get it after work but by the time she would get to Lima, the pharmacy would be closed and she didn't want to wait until morning to get it as she was worried Rachel might get herself worked up at some point in the evening and Shelby wanted to have it in case she couldn't get Rachel to calm down on her own. As she waited in line, Shelby dug through her purse to find her wallet. Frustration set in when she realized she had left it on the counter top at home when she had taken the money out for Rachel for lunch. In the rush to get out the door sooner than her usual time, Shelby had forgotten to get the pocketbook.

"Damn." She whispered to herself.

Getting out of the line she had been standing in for nearly fifteen minutes, Shelby rushed out to her car and drove home. She wasn't going to have time to go back to the pharmacy so she planned to leave money on the counter for Rachel. She was going to text the girl to tell her to go to the pharmacy before she went to the shelter as the pharmacy was just two blocks from the shelter. Walking through the front door, Shelby stopped short at seeing Rachel's backpack on the floor and the shoes Rachel had worn to school next to it.

"Rachel Barbra Berry!" Shelby angrily shouted. She figured Rachel had walked home to spend her lunch hour at home but Rachel knew Shelby didn't allow that as the girl had asked about it before.

Upstairs, Rachel heard her name being yelled and she froze in utter shock, unsure of what to do. After getting her dress cleaned and stain free, Rachel hung out at her dads' until she thought Shelby had left for work, which she was usually gone by Rachel's lunchtime. What was she doing home? Shelby bellowed for the teen to get her butt downstairs and Rachel knew better than to defy her mom. She walked out of her room, hugging her sweatshirt closer to her. At the top of the stairs, Rachel came to a stop as Shelby stood at the bottom of the staircase with a pissed off look on her face.

"Mom, I can explain." Rachel whispered.

"Oh trust me, you will but right now I am taking you back to school and we will talk about this when I pick you up from the Humane Society. I am already five minutes behind schedule." Shelby said, motioning for Rachel to come all the way down the stairs so they could leave.

"But I'm not properly dressed." Rachel said, tugging on her sweatshirt she had changed into at her dads' house. She had planned on changing back before she left to go to the humane society.

"Tough. You are going the way you are. Get your shoes on, now." Shelby said, walking Rachel to the front door. "Why would you even change your clothes when you were only spending your lunch hour home?"

Rachel realized her mom thought she was home for lunch and didn't know she had skipped the whole day. Sighing in relief, Rachel thought of something to say and the excuse she came up with wasn't a complete lie at all.

"My dress got stained so I came home to wash it. I was going to change back into my dress before I went back to school." Rachel said, getting into the car. "I wasn't coming home because I wanted too, I had too. You loved how the dress looked on me and it's my favorite, I didn't want it to get ruined. I'm sorry. I didn't think it would make you so mad because I waited until lunch to leave."

Shelby studied her daughter's face as she clicked her seat belt into place. Rachel's eyes were welled with tears and Shelby felt bad for getting so angry before she even let Rachel have the chance to explain herself. She really needed to learn to not jump to conclusions so fast.

"I'm sorry for being so angry." Shelby said. Rachel had tried to do the right thing. "But you should have called or texted me."

"I thought you'd still be home and would take me back to school but when I saw you weren't home, I figured you were on your way to work and didn't want you to get distracted." Rachel said. She knew she had gotten one over on Shelby and was quite proud of herself. This is why Rachel knew she'd make it on Broadway one day. She was a great actress and could think quickly on her feet.

"Next time, I'd really prefer if you called me first. Okay?"

"Okay, mom." Rachel nodded. "And I am sorry too. For everything today and for the last few days."

"I know you are." Shelby said, coming to a stop in front of McKinley. "We talk about this last night when I tucked you in, you were upset with something that happened at school. You explained and apologized for your misplaced anger and I forgave you. Today is a new day and I am ready to move past it all. You'll finish your grounding and all will be okay. You don't need to apologize anymore."

"I'm really glad you're trying to be understanding and giving me the time to adjust to having a parent that cares." Rachel said as she hugged Shelby goodbye for the second time that day. Shelby kissed Rachel's cheek as the bell signalling the end of Rachel's lunch went off. "I should go. Will you pick me up at the shelter?"

"Of course." Shelby nodded. "I'll see you at the same time as yesterday and today, I'd like you to be waiting out front for me."

"I will." Rachel said.

"Good girl. I love you."

"Love you too." Rachel grinned as she got out of the car. She was extremely proud of herself for fooling Shelby.

Rachel walked into the school, glancing behind her to see that Shelby was still sitting outside. She knew Shelby was going to sit there to make sure Rachel walked all the way inside. And she did, except she didn't go to class but instead walked out a door located in the back of the school. To make sure Shelby didn't see her, Rachel walked the long way back to Shelby's house. To give some extra time before going back home, Rachel stopped by the shelter and snuck through one of the side doors to avoid being seen at the front desk. Solo was laying down in his kennel and shot up when he saw his best buddy walking into the room. Solo barked twice and started jumping at the gate.

"Shhh. You have to be quiet so we don't get caught." Rachel smiled. As Rachel had walked in through the door, she had grabbed a few treats from the bag that was located next to the entrance and now she was feeding Solo the first one. "How are you doing boy? I missed you so much. I wish we could go for a walk or go outside and play."

Solo stretched his nose through the bars of the kennel and nudged Rachel's hand that held the treats.

"I'm gonna talk to my mom again. I'm in a lot of trouble with her though but it's not all my fault. It's Finn and Quinn's." Rachel sat down on the floor, leaning her shoulder against Solo's kennel as she gave him another small treat. "See, everyone in my glee club is worried that because my mom is Shelby Corcoran, the top show choir coach in the country. Well the world actually but I don't see the need to feed her ego. Plus she like comes unglued when I down play her title."

Rachel giggled. Ever since the night they stayed up late singing, Rachel liked to purposefully mention that Shelby was the top coach in the nation as Shelby would get twisted and have to remind Rachel she was the top in the world. The look on her mother's face always made Rachel laugh.

"Anyway, after it got out that Shelby was my mother, the glee club was worried that I would jump ship to Vocal Adrenaline so Quinn talked Finn into asking me out. We had a short little thing awhile back and she knew I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to date Finn. She was right and I fell for it. I knew I shouldn't have said yes and I should have listened to mom when she said I needed to break up with Finn." Rachel brushed away several tears. "But I wanted a friend, just one, you know? And because Finn is a popular football player, I thought I would stop getting slushied. It was going to be great. I feel so stupid."

Solo reached his nose back through the bars but this time he wasn't trying to get a treat. This time he licked Rachel's face as if he was wiping away her tears, trying to make her feel better. It worked and Rachel smiled, lifting up her hand to pet Solo's head and ears. She stayed with Solo for long time, slowly feeding him the last three treats, before she slipped back out the door and went home.

Shelby arrived to Carmel almost a half hour late after she had dropped off Rachel at school. One of her co-workers was subbing for her class until she could arrive to take over. Stopping at her office, Shelby hung her purse on the over the door coat hanger and placed her blazer on the hook just above it, using it to cover her purse. She collected the things she'd need for her first two classes and went to the door, reaching her hand into her purse to get her phone. Sighing with an audible f-bomb, Shelby realized she had forgotten her wallet again and that she didn't tell Rachel she needed to stop home after school.

Great.

Shelby returned to her office shortly after two thirty and dropped into her chair. The first thing she did was send Rachel the message and Rachel replied back a few minutes later. Shelby sent another message to Rachel telling her she loved her and that she would see her later, hinting that Rachel needed to put her phone away and pay attention in class. Next, Shelby called Pam. She had been meaning to talk to her about Hiram and Leroy.

"Hey, Shelby." Pam answered after three rings.

"Hi. How are you?"

"I'm good and yourself?"

"It's been quite a day." Shelby shook her head. "I want to talk to you about a few things."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Rachel's dads." Shelby said. "If they somehow find out that Rachel is down there with you and show up to talk to her, would you please call me right away and keep Rachel away from them? I don't expect them to get violent or create a scene but I don't want them to try and sway or bribe Rachel into moving back in with them."

"I will make sure everyone is aware of the situation." Pam agreed. The women spoke for several more minutes before Pam asked, "Will Rachel be coming in early today?"

"No, why?"

"She was seen in here earlier visiting one of the dogs and I figured she didn't have school today or something."

"No she has school today." Shelby said. She figured Rachel had stopped by the shelter on her way home during her lunch hour. "So she'll be in at her regular time."

"Oh, I just assumed since she was here for almost an hour and a half."

"She what?" Shelby asked.

After talking to Pam a bit more, Shelby hung up and called McKinley and talked to the front desk. Slamming her phone onto the desk, Shelby picked up her work phone and called the principal, explaining she needed to leave for the rest of the day and would need a sub, along with Dustin to cover her at rehearsals. Her darling daughter had, for some reason that Shelby didn't think was good enough, skipped school two days in a row and had straight out lied to Shelby about why she was home. For a moment, Shelby had every intention of pulling her daughter over her lap the moment she saw her but stopped, remembering her promise to not parent Rachel too much during this transition phase. And just as quickly as Shelby had decided to stick to her promise, Shelby snorted.

She was worried about parenting her daughter too much, when clearly her daughter wasn't being parented enough. On the drive to Lima, Shelby decided Rachel Berry's world was about to change. Whether she was able to sit or not by the end of the night was up to her little princess.

Still angry as she had been when she left Carmel, Shelby nearly broke the blinker off her car as she signaled to get off on the exit that led her off the highway and to Lima. At the first set of stop lights, Shelby grabbed her ringing phone from her purse. Oh, look who it was, her delinquent child. Tapping the screen, Shelby answered the phone and as calmly as she could muster, she greeted her daughter.

"Hello?"

"Mommy." Rachel sobbed out. A little of Shelby's anger melted away.

"Rach? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Shelby worriedly asked.

"Solo. Some family is adopting Solo." Rachel cried into the phone. "Please. Please change your mind and try to get Pam to not let the adoption go through. Mommy please."

Tears pricked Shelby's eyes and a hard lump formed in her throat. Her baby sounded so hysterically distraught and it pained her. She never liked it when her daughter cried or was hurting. What mother did?

"Where are you?" Shelby asked, even though she guessed Rachel was at the shelter.

"I'm with Solo. Please mommy, hurry before it's too late."

"Rachel, I want you to wait for me out front. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"What?" Rachel whispered. "Why aren't you at work."

"Just be out front." Shelby said and hung up after Rachel agreed.

Ten minutes later, Shelby pulled up next to Rachel and pointed to the passenger door. Rachel's face was soaked with tears, along with the front of her sweatshirt where the tears had gathered. Shelby noticed Rachel's eyes were bright red. Rachel really was attached to that dog. Shelby messed around on her cell for a moment while she waited for Rachel to get in the car and then she began to pull out of the parking lot, telling Rachel to buckle up.

"But mom, what about Solo?" Rachel gasped.

"Asking me to shell out two hundred and fifty five dollars for a dog is the last thing you should be worried about."

"You can't do this to me. I love that dog, please turn around, mommy please." Rachel said, a fresh round of sobs slipping through her lips. "We need to go back."

"No. We need to go home and talk about you skipping school yesterday and today." Shelby said.

Oh shit. Rachel's eyes widened so big that Shelby was sure they were going to pop out of her head and Rachel began to cry harder.

"Don't worry, I'm over wanting to spank the living daylights out of you but that doesn't mean you're off the hook." Shelby tried to calm her daughter's sobs.

Rachel continued to cry as they drove home and even still continued as they entered the house. Shelby took Rachel upstairs and into her bedroom, sitting Rachel on the large bed. Shelby used baby wipes to clean off her makeup every night and took a few from the package that sat on her bathroom sink. Rachel was wiping her eyes with the back of her hand when Shelby returned to the bedroom and she knelt in front of Rachel, putting the girl's arm down so she could use the baby wipes to clean up Rachel's face.

"Stop crying." Shelby sternly said. She didn't think she'd be able to maintain what tough guy attitude she had left if Rachel kept crying. She tossed the used wipes on the nightstand and sat next to Rachel. "What was the point of skipping?"

"I don't know." Rachel shrugged, staring down at her feet.

Shelby placed her hand under Rachel's chin and forced the girl to look at her. "I don't know isn't going to fly with me tonight Rachel."

"Solo-"

"I don't want to hear another word about Solo." Shelby held up her hand. "I want to know why you skipped. The truth. You've already lied to me once today."

"I didn't completely lie."

"Then tell me what happened." Shelby said.

"Okay." Rachel took a deep, quivering breath. She was still worked up from crying so much and Shelby was more than willing to give Rachel a second to catch her breath. "Sunday when you told me to break it off with Finn, I didn't. I was going too but I wanted to talk to Finn first. I thought maybe if I explained to him how it hurt me that he did that, he would apologize. So Monday when I went to look for him, I found him and Quinn."

"Oh, Rachel." Shelby quietly said.

"He was telling Quinn that he didn't want to keep pretending to be dating me but she said he couldn't touch her breasts if he didn't continue dating me. I didn't know what to do, I ran out. I was hurt and upset. I knew you were home but I knew you'd want to talk about it and I didn't want too at the time. So I went to my dads and stayed there until after you left."

"Rach, baby, you could have come home to me." Shelby said, brushing away several tears from Rachel's cheeks.

"You would have been mad that I left school and that I didn't listen to you."

"No, I wouldn't have been." Shelby replied. This was not how she was expecting this conversation would go. She thought Rachel didn't go to school as a way of testing Shelby. Hearing her daughter was being used to win regionals, Shelby didn't blame Rachel for not wanting to go to school. Shelby wished she would have known sooner. "Did anything happen today?"

Rachel nodded.

"Tell me?"

"I went inside to drop off my poster and to get my homework for yesterday and today, before I left I was slushied."

"Slushied?"

"The popular kids like to throw slushies at us less popular glee kids. It happens a lot." Rachel looked at Shelby with saddened eyes. "I was at my dads cleaning my dress."

"Rachel, you could have told me."

"You would have sent me back to school and I didn't want to go."

Why did her kid think she was so mean?

"I would not have sent you back to school had I known and I wouldn't have been mad. Rachel I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I had sent you to a place where you were being treated poorly." Shelby wrapped her arms around Rachel and held on to her tightly. This action caused Rachel to start crying again and Shelby rocked her. "Shhhhh, it's gonna be okay."

"I just wanted friends, mommy. That's all. I just wanted a friend." Rachel cried into Shelby's chest.

Shelby's body shook very gently as she cried with Rachel. Using a free hand, she cleaned up her face as she started to understand why Rachel was so attached to Solo. Rachel, having stopped crying, wiped her face with Shelby's shirt and sat up.

"Now that you understand what I've been dealing with this week, you cannot fault me for my behavior the past few days. I think I should be able to have my doors, phone, and iPod back. Don't you agree?" Rachel asked.

Shelby raised her brow, completely over being grossed out at Rachel's snot being caked on her shirt.

"While I believe school has been apart of the reason why you've been behaving badly, you still did not even try to control yourself. I have told you many times that you need to keep your anger where it belongs. I have given you warning after warning, you got your doors, phone, and iPod taken away because you chose to ignore those warnings and now you are dealing with the consequences." Shelby said and Rachel slumped her shoulders, not getting the answer she was hoping for. "Things are going to be different around here. From now on you'll get one warning and if you don't change whatever it is that I am asking you too, there will be a consequence. No more multiple warnings. After the few days that I will let you have off from school, you are to not skip ever again. If you do, I will personally make sure you get to each and every one of your classes and I will make sure you stay in them. Swearing will earn you soap in the mouth and yelling at me will result in the same thing."

"I really will be on my best behavior." Rachel said. She wanted to debate her reasoning as to why she should be let off her grounding but Rachel made the wise choice to keep her mouth shut and agree with her mother. Shelby wasn't going to ground her this time for skipping and wasn't adding anymore time to her current grounding for lying and Rachel wanted it to stay that way.

"I know you will." Shelby gently smiled. She knew it was all easier said than done. It was going to be hard for Rachel to stay out of trouble and it was going to be hard for Shelby to hand out the punishments she had settled on. Either way they were both working on their positions in the building relationship and everything would work out in the end.

An hour later, Shelby was sitting on the couch with Rachel curled up in her side. Rachel was glad her mom had suggested they watch some TV and spend the rest of the evening together. Shelby had even said they could order Chinese or pizza later on, which ever Rachel wanted. The doorbell rang and Rachel groaned as Shelby paused the show and moved to stand up. She was so comfy. Whoever it was better make this quick so she could get back to snuggling with her mom.

"I'll be right back." Shelby laughed at Rachel's noise of displeasure.

Rachel stretched out on the couch and closed her eyes. Suddenly, something cold and wet touched her cheek and Rachel sat up, her eyes flying open. Solo placed his front paws on Rachel's lap and licked her face.

"What in the world?" Rachel wondered. She heard the front door close and Shelby walked into the livingroom moments later. "Mom? How did you? When did you?"

"Last night when you were talking about how you felt like you were tossed aside and that Solo was like you, it got me to thinking. Solo needed a good home and an owner who would always love him. You and him were made for each other, together you can heal each other." Shelby sat down on the couch next to Rachel and Solo moved to lay his head on Shelby's lap. She smiled down at the dog and began to pet him. "He's all yours, Rach."

"No." Rachel shook her head, scooting closer to Shelby so she could pet Solo as well. "He's ours."


End file.
